Sirius Black's Sordid Affair
by WhyWhatShutup
Summary: In which James is a git, Sirius and Lily hook up, and general angst and chaos ensue. Also "I think your hair is ruddy brilliant!" because "ruddy" is a word that should be used much more frequently. Sirius citrus involved in the first chapter.
1. Part I

I'm putting this up as my first foray into the world of writing Harry Potter fanfictions. To warn everyone, I am terrible with updates, as evidenced by my other stories. However, the next chapter of KnD is approximately one-half finished. The next chapter of FtGF is started and (sigh), yes, there is another chapter of "Release" in the works, though I can't make any promises on that.

I hereby disclaim any rights to the wonderful Harry Potter universe. I make no profit from this story and, in fact, it occasionally cuts back on my sleep quite severely…

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part I**

_By the time you swear you're his,_

_Shivering and sighing,_

_And he vows his passion is_

_Infinite, undying,_

_Lady, make a note of this —_

_One of you is lying._

Dorothy Parker

"Hey, Lily, wait up!"

The girl stopped and turned, her heart pounding as she saw the messy-haired boy's bright smile. She fiddled with her red hair as she waited for him to catch up. Butterflies fought in her stomach. This was it.

"Yes, Potter?"

He ruffled his hair as he stopped in front of her. "Hey."

Lily tried to stop her smile. "Hi. Did you need something?" _Stupid heart. Slow down!_

"Um, yeah. Tonight's the end of year ball. I was wondering if you'd meet me there?" Even his arrogant smirk was making her heart flutter.

She was still twisting her hair around her finger. "Yeah… I think I'd like to do that."

He looked shocked for a moment before his smirk returned. "Perfect. Ball starts at nine. Meet at half nine in the Great Hall?"

"Sure."

"Brilliant!" He started to jog off. "Don't stand me up, Evans!"

After resisting for two years? She wouldn't dream of it.

She frowned when she noticed the glare James gave Sirius, along with a shove, when he ran past. Sirius seemed to have been ostracized from the Marauders for the past week or so, since the full moon. Lily knew, of course, about Remus. She wondered what had caused them to start cutting their best friend out of their group.

Sirius looked so sad. Lily gave him an encouraging smile before continuing on to Gryffindor tower. She had plenty of time before the ball, but she wanted to tell her roommates, Dorcas, Marlene, Alice and Mary that she had finally agreed to a date with James Potter. Marlene would be so proud.

At dinner, her friends kept glancing down at James who smirked back. Lily blushed whenever Marlene elbowed her in the ribs but managed to keep her eyes away from James for most of the meal.

She'd thought she despised him for so long. He was arrogant and always ruffled his hair and played with that snitch. But he was also smart and Lily was tired of saying no to someone so handsome. After all, what was the harm in one date?

"Someone's gonna get laid tonight," Marlene sung under her breath. Dorcas laughed and Mary, who had been talking with Remus, just raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"Shh!" Lily said, laughing. "No one said I'd go that far!"

"Ooh, but who can resist that?" Marlene asked with perfect timing, as James leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. The stretch showed off his muscles perfectly as his shirt raised from his abs.

Dorcas sighed dreamily, batting her eyes at James jokingly. "Too bad he's my Quidditch Captain. And he likes you, Lily. Because he is just delicious…"

"More like, too bad you refuse to date Quidditch players," Mary muttered. "So picky."

"They always seem to think girls shouldn't play Quidditch once they start dating a boy who does! It's ridiculous."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's just get ready for the ball, not ogle Lily's date." She stood and looked at her friends expectantly. "Well?"

They followed the boisterous blond out of the hall. Lily noticed absently that Sirius was not with his fellow Marauders.

"Lily! Guys, wait up!"

The three girls stopped just outside the Great Hall. Their fourth roommate, Alice, caught up to them, her face flushed as if coming from a workout.

"Enjoy a good snog with Frank?"

"A brilliant one, in fact," Alice said, grinning. Her round face started to lose some of its color and she swept her dark hair back up into a high ponytail. Obviously her boyfriend had been playing with it. "So why are you guys leaving so early?"

"Lily here has a date to the dance," Dorcas told their friend as they made their way up the stairs. "With James Potter."

Alice's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Wow. I though he was with that one girl – what was her name? – and that you hated him, Lily."

Lily shrugged. "I figured I could give him one chance. It is the end of our sixth year. If it's awful, I won't have to see him again for another few months."

"It'll be fantastic," Mary assured her. "He'll just die when he sees you in that dress, as well."

They made it up into their dormitory without a hitch. All four girls chatted while getting ready and changing into their dresses. Lily was nervous. James had been asking her out for two years and it had taken a lot of encouragement from her friends to even think about saying yes.

And what if all he wanted was a shag? Lily admitted that wouldn't be all bad. Last summer – was it really nearly a year ago? – she had her first time. She'd been broken-hearted over losing her best friend, angry at the way James Potter had acted and frustrated over her sister's behavior. So when a handsome muggle boy came around and asked her out, she accepted out of loneliness. After two dates, she had ended up back at his house, kissing him furiously and feeling the muscles he'd built from being on his school's rugby team. One thing had led to another…

It had been good. Not fantastic, but good. The second time had been better. After that, he'd gone off to rugby camp and Lily had started to get over losing her best friend.

But Lily hoped James wanted more. He joked around all the time, but she could admit he was smart. He was better than her in Transfigurations and as good in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He wasn't quite as good at Potions, but he made by. And when he flew, he looked like he fit in the air.

_One date won't hurt_, Lily told herself, ignoring the way her heart pounded every time she thought of him and how her breath quickened whenever she saw his face. _It's not love, just a crush_, she insisted to her stubborn body. It didn't listen.

The girls were ready just before nine-thirty. They'd all showered and dressed, doing makeup and hair and casting charms to color their nails and make their hair stay just so.

Lily's dress was long and slinky, with a low back that Dorcas and Marlene had spent an hour talking her into. It was a dark silver and shone in the light, matching the grey flecks in her eyes almost perfectly. Her friends swore up and down that no one would be able to resist her in it.

Mary was a little more modest. Her dress was dark blue and had an empire waist. It trailed to the ground with little showers of jewels. She left her hair down, though Marlene tried to convince her to put it up in little curls. Instead, Lily's hair became Marlene's victim.

Marlene had opted for a knee-length dress in red with gold heels to accent it and show her house pride. Her makeup was a subtler shade of gold and she glittered from a shimmer charm. The dress was strapless and ruffled slightly at the top.

Dorcas stuck with a black mermaid style gown. She said it made her feel glamorous and she deserved to feel that way after helping win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. Tiny pearls were dispersed throughout the dress and she wore pearl studs in her ears. She looked elegant.

Alice also wanted to show her house pride, but she went with a light gold ball gown and accented it with red trim that she sewed on herself. She stuck her tongue out at Lily and Dorcas when they laughed at her as she put a tiara on her head.

"I wanna feel like a princess, damn it."

"Alright then, princess. Think you can present yourself to your adoring public then?" Marlene bowed as she gestured toward the door. "I'm sure Frank is dying to see you."

Alice stuck her nose up in the air and strutted out the door, but she was smiling and her eyes twinkled in happiness.

Dorcas noticed that Lily looked like she was about to have a panic attack. The red head kept fussing with her dress and her eyes were wide. The little Quidditch player shook her head and went to her trunk. "Lily, drink this," she said, tossing a flask to her friend.

Lily caught it and looked at it. "What's in it?"

Mary caught Dorcas' eye and smirked. "Just a little something to make you a bit braver tonight."

The prefect opened the flask and sniffed. "Firewhiskey?" Lily accused.

Dorcas grinned. "It'll give you plenty of courage."

Lily looked at the flask dubiously before sighing. "Here goes," she muttered. Marlene, Mary and Dorcas cheered as Lily chugged.

They refilled the flask before leaving. Dorcas took Lily's arm and Marlene captured Mary's. "Time to go have fun."

The common room was empty except for Alice and Frank snogging near the stairs. "Get a room you two," Marlene teased as the four left through the portrait hole.

The other girls sniggered. "By the end of the night, they probably will."

In the Great Hall, all of the tables had been pushed against the walls and held punch. A few also held wine, but Dorcas had shrunk her flask and given it to Lily, "just in case you need some guts tonight," as Dorcas put it.

Lily stood beside the entrance as her friends went off to meet their dates. She didn't see James yet, but he couldn't be far. It was nine-thirty on the dot. Mary was off, already dancing with Remus. Marlene was flirting with several Ravenclaw boys near the punch. Dorcas met up with her date… Lily couldn't remember his name. Septimo Something-or-Other. Sirius was there, looking alone and very out of place. Lily started toward him to say hello and try to find out what was going on between him and the other Marauders, but he was staring off toward something, almost with longing. Lily followed his gaze.

And there was James. Someone moved out of Lily's path of view to show James with his messy black hair, dressed in bottle-green dress robes, laughing at something. His grin was infectious, even from across the room. But then she wasn't grinning anymore.

Felicia Hackleburst was with him and she was laughing too. And then she pulled him close by the front of his green robes and kissed him. And James had a fistful of her hair in his hand and was tilting her head back with that hand. His other hand was on her rump and they were pressed together in such a way that Lily was sure they'd been that way with much less clothing in the past.

Lily watched, horrified as they deepened their kiss and the alcohol rushing through her system wasn't the only thing making her warm anymore.

"They've been at it like that for five minutes. I figured they'll be leaving together soon," Sirius muttered to her. He was looking at her now and she could see the same pity she'd felt for him reflected in his eyes. "Sorry."

The alcohol made her brave, as Dorcas said it would. Lily gripped Sirius' hand and pulled him from the Great Hall and he followed willingly, with one last look at his best friend.

Lily pulled him up the stairs, into an empty classroom. It was fury that was making her warm and she unshrunk the flask and took another drink before offering it to Sirius. He accepted took a long drink from it.

"James is awful," Lily stated as she ran a hand through Sirius' hair.

"Yeah, he's a bloody idiot." Sirius' eyes were hungry.

"Damn fool."

He ran a hand up her bare back and the anger and desperation they both felt turned to lust. He pulled his wand from his robes and transfigured some of the desks into cushions. They fell onto them together. Sirius pulled the pins from her hair, letting the red curls fall around her shoulders as he laid her back onto the cushions.

Lily kissed him, tasting of firewhiskey. For a moment, Sirius wondered if he should stop. James had wanted this girl for years. James had been his best friend. James had confessed that he thought he could fall for the pretty red head.

James had let them both down.

It was enough for him to kiss her back and think of how fit this girl was, how great she looked in that low dress, how great she looked on a normal day. With one hand, he dragged the skirt of her dress up above her knees. Lily spread her legs and gripped Sirius' hips between her knees. Sirius groaned. The flask was on the floor beside them, forgotten.

Sirius kissed his way down her neck, nibbling on it as he went. He pushed the thin straps of her gown away from her shoulders and realized quickly that she was without a bra.

Lily untucked his shirt and shoved her hands beneath it, feeling his muscles flex as she touched them. She moaned as his mouth ventured lower, nipping and sucking a trail to her breasts. He knew what he was doing and it felt good.

They fit perfectly in his palms, Sirius noted. He rubbed one nipple with his thumb as he sucked the other. Her breathy moans were too much to resist and he began to rock his pelvis against hers, his erection pressing against his trousers, trying to break free to rub against her.

Lily returned his thrusts and her hands fumbled with his trousers, trying to open them. She finally succeeded and heard him gasp as she gripped his erection. He bit down on her breast and Lily cried out in surprise and pleasure.

"Like a little biting, Evans?" Sirius' smirk was more smug than Lily thought possible. She found it sexy.

"Yes," she moaned as his mouth left her chest and returned to her neck to bite and suck and kiss it some more.

He was thrusting into her hand, but Lily could tell that she was wet with arousal. She took one of his hands and guided it down to her knickers. He needed little encouragement. He tugged at her knickers until she lowered her legs from around his hips and he could pull them off. He tossed them to the side and his fingers slipped back up her legs to the apex of her thighs.

Merlin, was she wet, Sirius marveled. His fingers slipped through her juices, rubbing her clit in time with her gripping his erection. He slipped a finger into her, then two and thrust them in time with her. He pulled back to watch her reactions and listen to her moaning his name.

Lily writhed, coming closer and closer to the edge. Sirius was watching her carefully and pulled away just in time to stop her orgasm. She whined pathetically.

"Sirius, please…" she begged, stroking him as if to entice him to continue.

He pulled even further away, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Merlin, he could tell what Prongs saw in her. She was bloody beautiful and enticing as hell. Her eyes were intense and her one hand was still reaching out as if to grip him tightly again. Her legs were spread and he could see that all her hair was red.

Sirius pulled off his clothing, tossing them to the side before he got started on her. Lily's dress went on top of his pants, her black heels next to the flask. They were both naked and admired one another's bodies.

Lily fumbled to pull her wand from the special pocket of her dress. "_Muffliato_," she murmured.

"What was that?"

"Something to make sure we aren't heard."

Then she was on her knees and her breath was heating his erection and he discovered how hot and wet her mouth was and how good her tongue felt. Before long, it was her that had to pull away. He pressed her back onto the cushions and hovered over her, his erection touching against her entrance just enough to tease.

His grin was sexy. The way she looked at him under thick, red lashes drove him mad.

"You ready?" he asked.

Her answer was to thrust up, feeling an inch or so of him push inside her. He grunted and pushed into her up to his hilt.

~~~…~~~

James Potter thought he was having a good night. He and Felicia Hackleburst had snogged for a bit before he had to meet Lily and Felicia had let him know that if the pretty prefect was too much of a prude for him, he could always call on her again. He'd shaken his head with his sexiest grin and gone off in search of Lily.

But she was nowhere to be found. He frowned, wondering if she really had stood him up. He shook his head. That wouldn't be like her. No matter how many times she declined his invitations, he knew that if she accepted, she meant to show up. Maybe she'd gotten the time they were supposed to meet wrong.

By eleven, though, he had a sneaking suspicion that she hadn't misremembered the time. He slipped into an alcove where he couldn't be seen and pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," James muttered to the parchment.

It only took a moment to find Lily. She was in an empty classroom with Sirius.

James started to climb the stairs, thinking to himself that it was time to forgive his git of a friend. Lily was probably in there trying to find out what was wrong. She was nice like that. For a moment, he felt guilty that he had snogged Felicia right before his date with Lily. He shook it off with a promise to himself that he wouldn't do so again.

James stopped outside the classroom that the map had showed as being occupied by Sirius and Lily. He listened for the murmur of conversation but heard nothing. He pushed open the door.

There was a mad scramble as Sirius and Lily realized that the door was opening. They had just stopped briefly and were resting beside one another before another round. Lily managed to get her dress over her head before she realized who was in the doorway. She smoothed the fabric over her thighs and glared at James. Sirius had his pants up, but the top button was undone.

James gaped. His best mate was… had been… with the girl he'd wanted since first year!

"What the fuck, Lily!" he finally shouted. "You stood me up for this shithead?"

Lily's glare was icy as she helped Sirius gather his clothing. "I didn't stand you up."

"Then what do you call this? He's just using you to piss me off, I hope you know."

"Before you criticize him, think about what you were doing at nine-thirty, when we were supposed to meet. Does Felicia Hackleburst ring a bell?"

"She – we were just… It was just a bloody kiss!"

"Well maybe this was just a bloody shag," Lily responded coldly. She helped Sirius button his shirt.

"You missed out, mate. Next time you ask a girl on a date, don't be kissing another girl when she gets there."

James had no response as his ex-best mate and the girl he'd been trying to ask out since fifth year slipped past him into the hallway.

"I thought you liked me, James," Lily muttered without looking at him. Sirius and James met eyes and James could see that Sirius was lonely and angry. They said nothing to one another.

In the hallway, Lily hid behind a suit of armor, her hand pressed to her mouth and tears flowing down her face, ruining what remained of her makeup. What had they done?

~~~…~~~

Yes, this is a James/Lily fanfiction. Don't worry your pretty little heads about that.

Please review. I love feedback, praise and the occasional flame to laugh at.

Edit (6/22/12): Added a few lines. Nothing major.


	2. Part II

I'm bringing this chapter to you early. In the future, I'll post every four weeks, instead of every two, to give me time to stay ahead on writing. This will be my schedule for the summer. When the semester starts in August, updates might be more erratic.

Currently, up to chapter four of this story is written and chapter five is in the works. That guarantees a chapter per month until the semester starts. If I get ahead on writing, I'll continue to update twice a month.

~~~…~~~

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part II**

_But now I know the things I know  
And do the things I do,  
And if you do not like me so,  
To hell, my love, with you._

Dorothy Parker

Sirius was alone in the compartment on the Hogwarts Express. James, for obvious reasons, was more than upset with him. Remus still had not forgiven him for nearly making the teen werewolf a murderer and Peter was following Remus and James. Knowing his reputation, no one else seemed to have an inclination to sit with him either. He stared out the window as students continued boarding the train and desperately tried to figure out where he was going to live for the summer. By wizarding standards, he was an adult and his Uncle Alphard had left him a good amount of money in his will, but he'd been living with the Potters since the end of school last year. He hadn't had the time to find a flat.

The door to his compartment slid open. Lily stepped in and closed the door, locking it behind her.

"How are you?" Lily asked softly.

Sirius scoffed. "I could ask the same of you."

"Fine," Lily shrugged. "You were living with Potter, weren't you? How's that going to work out?"

"Not going to. I'll have to find someplace else."

"What happened between you two… I mean, before last night?" Lily blushed and Sirius couldn't help remembering her flushed face while she'd been moaning his name.

Sirius shrugged, unwilling to betray Remus' secret, even if Remus wasn't speaking to him.

"I know it has to have something to do with Remus. I mean, it was right around the full moon and…" Lily stopped when she saw the way Sirius was looking at her. "What?" she asked defensively.

"You know?"

"Of course I know. It's not hard to miss once you get to know him."

Sirius sighed and leaned his head back. "I almost got someone killed and he would have felt guilty."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I'm a hell of a bloke," Sirius said sarcastically.

"You're not that bad," Lily told him. "You just tend to get carried away." There was a silence and Sirius couldn't deny her statement. "Ummm… do you want to come stay with me for a bit? Until you can get a flat?"

Sirius opened his eyes and stared at her. "I don't actually want James to kill me you know."

"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that my family has an extra bedroom at the moment and I thought maybe you could use it. Just until you get your own place, you know? Anyways, who cares what that ass thinks?" Lily scowled out the window.

Both were thinking, _I do_.

~~~…~~~

James was filling in Remus and Peter on what had happened the previous night. Peter gaped but Remus just shook his head thoughtfully.

"Lily and Sirius. Who would have thought?"

"The bastard knows that I've wanted to date her for years!"

"James," Remus said firmly, "You were caught kissing another girl. Lily had every right to go off with someone else. Not saying that it was the right thing to do or that she didn't go too far," he said hastily when he noticed James' expression, "But she did have that right."

"Not Sirius though." James fumed. "I should beat the snot out of him. When he comes home—"

Remus cut him off. "James, I don't think Sirius will be returning to your house this summer."

James stopped as what Remus said sunk in. He snorted. "Good," he replied, watching the countryside flash by.

~~~…~~~

Lily said goodbye to her female friends and ignored their questioning looks at her being with Sirius. She had managed to crawl into bed the previous night without any questions and stayed there until it was nearly time to leave school. Sirius had nothing better to do, nowhere better to go, so he was following her. Afterward Lily said her goodbyes, they went through the barrier with their trunks.

Mrs. Evans greeted Lily warmly and smiled hesitantly at Sirius. "Who is this, Lily?"

Sirius held out his hand for her to shake. "Sirius Black, ma'am."

"Mom, I was hoping he could stay with us for a bit while he's looking for a flat. You know, since Petunia just moved out?"

"What about your parents? Won't they worry?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Lily and Sirius looked at one another. "My parents and I don't get on. I haven't been living with them."

Mrs. Evans' smile dropped. "Alright then," she said firmly. "You can stay with us for a bit."

Sirius smiled weakly. "Thanks."

~~~…~~~

James watched them walk off together, jealousy coursing through his body. Both of his parents were there, elderly as they were. They kept looking around the platform, searching for someone. James had a feeling he knew who they were looking for.

"James, where's Sirius?" his mother finally asked.

"He's not coming this summer," James said stiffly.

His parents glanced at one another and seemed to come to an agreement. James wished he had someone he could do that with; look at them and immediately know what was going through their mind.

"Alright. Let's head home then."

James waved to Remus and Peter, promising to write later in the summer and making them promise to come visit. Then he and his parents Apparated to their home.

His father took him aside as his mother charmed his trunk up to his room. "What happened?"

"I caught him shagging the girl I fancy, _after_ she agreed to go out with me."

His father frowned. "That doesn't seem like Sirius at all. Why did he do that?"

James scowled. "We had a bit of a fight."

"Alright… And this girl, why did she go off with him instead?"

"She saw me kissing another girl." James expression grew even darker.

"James Malvolius Potter! Why, in Merlin's name, would you kiss another girl after you asked the girl you fancy on a date?" His father seemed to be raging. James was at a loss for words. He had hardly ever been rebuked by his parents. They'd been elderly when they had him and it had taken years of trying before his mother got pregnant. Usually, he could do no wrong in their eyes. His father's outburst stunned him.

James stuttered. "W-well, I… I d-dunno."

"Son, if that's the way you believe a man should behave, the way a _Gryffindor_ should behave, then you and I need to have a serious chat."

"But she slept with Sirius!"

"Well yes, but she's not my child. This evening, my study, young man."

James could tell it was going to be an awfully long summer.

~~~…~~~

Sirius was uncomfortable with how Mrs. Evans – Julie, as she told him to call her – was treating him. It was as if he was an honored guest. She wouldn't let him set the table or carry out the food or anything. "You are a guest," she'd said, "And you shall be treated like one." She'd eyed him then, like a prized ham at the butcher's. "And you need a good deal of mothering before you can get a flat anywhere on your own. You need to eat a bit more and learn to do laundry first."

Lily has sniggered at his shocked expression. "She always wanted a son," she whispered to him. "She's probably thrilled that you're here."

As Sirius saw the food that Mrs. Evans was placing in front of him, with the stern instruction of, "Eat up young man," and as he saw the way Lily was smiling, he knew it was going to be a very interesting summer.

~~~…~~~

"That one's rubbish! Why are you even looking at it?"

"Look how close it is to Diagon Alley. How could it be anymore bloody convenient?"

Lily turned her nose up at the ad. "It doesn't even have a separated bedroom. You'd have to have one of those hide-away beds."

"If there's someone in my apartment, it's either because they're my friends and they won't care or they're a girl and they want to go straight to that bed anyways."

She rolled her eyes. "If I was a girl that wanted to shag you, I'd prefer the bed be in the _bed_room."

"You would know," Sirius retorted. "Come on, it's convenient. Three steps from bed to the fridge for a drink."

"No thanks. That's not convenience, that's laziness. Here, look at this one. It's about the same price but it's actually got a bedroom and a bath and a half. And look how big the den is."

"What am I gonna do with all that space?"

"Put a telly in. I know how much you love ours."

Julie popped her head in. "Still looking for a flat, Sirius?"

Sirius gave her a guilty smile. "Sorry Julie. I'll be out soon, I promise."

She shook her head. "I've told you, you can stay until school starts if it's easier and you can go looking next summer. You're welcome to come home for winter holidays as well." She started to leave. "I'm going out for a bit. There are snacks in the kitchen if you get hungry."

The two teenagers flipped through the ads a bit more. "She's right, you know. It would be alright if you stayed for a while longer. You'd only be in your new flat for a month if you moved out now."

"You don't think it's awkward being around me?"

Lily studied him with pretty green eyes. "No. We're friends."

Sirius snorted. "I don't have any friends," he stated sadly.

"Don't be so morose. Of course you do. What are Remus and Peter and Potter?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "You really think they still consider me a friend?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. And what about me? I'm not your friend?"

"The word for what we are, Evans, is not 'friends.' It's called fuck-buddies." He looked up and his eyes widened at Lily's hurt look.

"Alright, fine." She left the ads on the floor beside Sirius and stood, leaving the room.

Sirius cursed at himself. The only person that was getting along with him at the moment and he chased her off with some stupid comment.

But it was true. Before _that_ night, he and Evans had hardly ever spoken. When they did, she was usually telling him off for some prank or another or telling him to keep James away from her. That night, they'd both been pissed off and it had erupted…

Now though, what could he call her? He mused on that. They weren't having sex, hadn't even talked about it. She'd asked him to move into her home without a second thought, knowing that he had nowhere to go. Sirius realized that Lily Evans, Prefect extraordinaire, may be his only friend and he'd just told her she was nothing but a fuck-buddy.

Sirius tossed the ads to the side and went to Lily's room. He knocked softly. "Lily? Can I come in?"

He didn't hear anything. He took that as permission.

Lily was stomach-down on her bed, clutching the stupid stuffed armadillo James had given her one Christmas. Sirius remembered that armadillo. He'd thought she'd thrown it in the rubbish.

"I didn't mean it. I just wasn't thinking about it."

Her gaze was red and angry, as if she'd been fighting back tears. "Doesn't mean you don't mean it," she muttered.

He sat next to her on the bed. She ignored him and stayed on her stomach. "Look, Lils, you might be my _only_ friend at the moment. I just didn't realize it until now." He pulled her up and gave her his signature grin. "We might have had fun after the ball, but that's not all you are anymore."

Lily couldn't help the smile. "You claim that, but you've been living with me a month and haven't tried a thing?"

She got to hear his barking laugh for the first time in a while. "I didn't know you wanted me to try."

They smirked at one another and Sirius kissed her. He lay down and pulled her on top of him and they rested there for a while, kissing.

"Did you really like James?" he asked as they pulled apart for a moment.

Lily frowned. "Yes. I wanted to give him a chance."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair in an eerily similar manner to the boy Lily missed and Lily rested her head on his free arm. "Bugger. After all that damn time too…"

"Yep."

"He's a bloody idiot. We're bloody idiots."

"I am not arguing."

"Think we can fix it?"

"Who knows?"

Sirius sighed, frustrated. "Should we even try?"

They looked at one another and Lily shrugged. "I don't know."

For a while they were quiet, cuddled up on Lily's bed like best friends or lovers. _I suppose, at this point, we are_, Lily mused.

"Want to go to Diagon Alley?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Diagon Alley. You know, ice cream, owls, books. Possibly a pint or two if we can talk anyone in to giving them to us." His grin was charming. Lily wasn't fooled.

"Well… the ice cream idea sounds good. And maybe we can see if there're any flats there that you could look at."

"Brilliant! Let's go." He hopped up and pulled Lily up too. She laughed in surprise.

"Wait! Let me at least leave a note for my mum!"

She jotted off a quick note and left it on the kitchen counter where she was sure her mum would see it. Sirius tapped his foot as she did so. When she was finally done, they Disapparated.

They appeared on the wizarding side of London and Sirius only gave her a moment to recover before he was dragging her off somewhere.

The first place he dragged her was the Quidditch supply store where he oo-ed and ahh-ed over the newest brooms, all the while claiming that his was till the best. Lily examined the Quidditch robes and practice snitches until Sirius pulled her out again.

There were a few other people from Hogwarts out that day, but Diagon Alley was overall quiet. Lily supposed that had something to do with the war. People were being much more cautious and not leaving home as much. Her brooding, however, was interrupted by Sirius' happiness. He was so enthusiastic that it was hard to stay depressed.

Lily was browsing in Flourish and Blotts while Sirius flipped through some Muggle Studies book.

"Hey, Lils, what do you think of motorbikes?"

Lily remembered the one time she had ridden one and smiled. "They're fun. Almost like flying, but louder."

"Do you think it would be possible to make a motorbike fly?"

Lily eyed him suspiciously. His tone was too innocent for him not to be up to something. "Possible, yes, but I don't know how legal it would be."

Sirius hummed and put the book back in its spot. "Wouldn't that be something though, to have a flying motorbike?" A thought came to him and his eyes twinkled. "Imagine the expression on my mother's face!"

Seeing as she had never met his mother, Lily had a hard time doing that. She didn't want to interrupt his fun though, so she didn't say that.

"Lily?"

Said girl looked up. Remus was standing on the landing for the stairs leading up to the second level. Lily looked between Remus and Sirius. Both boys were tense.

"What are you doing here with Sirius?" She'd never seen Remus attempt a sneer before. It looked out of place on his normally kind face.

"Well, um, we're just browsing about…" She looked between them again and made a decision. "Want to join us for ice cream?"

Sirius shot her a glare like, 'What are you doing?' but she ignored it. "Come on, I insist," she told them, grabbing each of their hands.

She dragged them all the way to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour before dropping their hands. Both boys were silent. Lily shifted uncomfortably as they waited in line. She ordered a raspberry and chocolate ice cream. Sirius and Remus both got sundaes.

They sat outside. "So," Lily began, "are you going to tell me why you're so upset with one another?"

They were quiet for a minute. "I tried to apologize, Moony," Sirius muttered. "None of you would let me."

"Don't you think it takes a bit more than an apology to make up for something like that?" Remus exclaimed.

"If you'd tell me what to do, I'd do it!"

Lily licked at her ice cream, remaining in the background as they duked it out. It made her sad that the two friends were so angry at one another; she couldn't help meddling when she saw Remus in Diagon Alley.

"—And then you go off and sleep with Lily? How are we supposed to feel about that?" Remus hissed, trying not to cause Lily any embarrassment. "You two really made a mess of things!"

Lily felt ashamed. She'd regretted sleeping with Sirius ever since she had but the fact that Remus knew and was confronting them about it made it all the more real and all the more embarrassing.

"What do you care? It's James that fancies her."

"James is my friend! I though he was yours too," Remus accused.

Lily's gaze darted around, hoping no one was listening in. There didn't seem to be anyone around.

"Yeah, well, if he hadn't gone off and snogged another girl while Lils was waiting for him, nothing would have happened!"

The silence was nearly as heavy as Sirius' explosive last remark.

"That's not a bloody excuse," Remus told them, voice still simmering.

"I know," Lily finally spoke up. She wasn't crying yet, but she suspected she might be soon. "You think I don't feel bad? I wasn't thinking! I really did want to give James a chance and go out with him, but when I saw them together… I'm sorry Remus. Please, please forgive us. We messed up. I know that," she pleaded.

"They were pretty hot and heavy, Moony," Sirius stated.

"And you two weren't? Honestly. You tow went further than he and Hackleburst did!"

"Not further than they've gone before! Even when he was asking Lily out every other day, he was still shagging girls on the side. You know that!" Sirius retorted.

"I thought he was serious about wanting to date me. I thought if I give him a chance, it wouldn't be so bad, you know? But even when he was expecting me, he was still messing around with other girls." Lily saw that Remus was about to speak and rushed to cut him off. "I know that doesn't excuse anything. But I was…" she trailed off, thinking that it was stupid to say something like 'heartbroken' when she hadn't even gone out with the boy. "I was angry and I was hurt and I wasn't thinking straight. I just saw his hand on her ass and his tongue in her mouth and lost it. I'm sorry."

Remus sighed, losing a bit of his anger. "He did mention that… You saw?" He looked troubled.

"Yeah," Lily answered quietly.

"What a git," Remus stated in amazement. He and Sirius looked at one another. There seemed to be a bit of a struggle before both gave a small, forgiving smile.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he? Six years of listening to him talk about her 'gleaming hair' and 'emerald eyes' and when she finally agrees to go out with him, he ruins it!"

Lily wasn't sure she found it all funny. The wound was still a little fresh for them to be snickering over it in front of her. But since they had stopped arguing and seemed to be starting to be on good terms again, she didn't say anything.

Remus noted her silence. "Sorry, Lily," he said seriously. "James is an idiot." He looked back at his friend again. "What are you two doing here anyways? I didn't really think that you two were… Well, I thought the ball was a one-time thing."

"I'm living with Lily." Sirius caught the way Remus' eyes widened and hastened to correct himself. "Not like that! I just didn't think I'd be welcome with any of you lot and I _know_ I wouldn't be welcome with my parents… So Lily just kind of offered up her place."

"Huh. But you two aren't…" Remus looked back and forth between the two. "You're not dating, are you?"

Lily and Sirius looked at one another. "No, we're not dating."

Remus sighed in relief. "That's good at least… If it was just a one-time thing, maybe this isn't a complete screw up."

"So, how is James?" Sirius asked cautiously after a minute of silence.

Remus leaned back in his chair. "Dunno. He got grounded for some reason or another. Said he has to go through 'boot camp' before his parents will let him out of the house again." Remus smiled. "His dad must have found out about him snogging Felicia when he was supposed to be with Lily. There's probably a good lot of 'Gryffindor Pride' training going on." He shook his head. "Look, Sirius, we're mates but I'm not sure I can completely forgive you, alright?"

"Okay. I can work with that. What about what happened with me and Lily?"

Remus stirred his melted sundae. "You've both messed up. You need to fix it. But I guess since I'm not the one that has wanted to date Lily for however long, it's not my problem. I don't really want any part of it."

"What about Peter?"

"Dunno. Haven't heard much from him this summer either."

"Damn. I guess he'd probably not too happy with me either."

"I would say that's probably correct."

"Damn," Sirius repeated.

~~~…~~~

Having his dad know he was a cheating git was bad enough. Having to tell him mum why he had been grounded had been even worse. She'd looked so disappointed, like she couldn't imagine how her son had turned out that way.

The fact that neither acted like they were mad at Sirius or Lily irked him. He was their son, for Merlin's sake! Shouldn't one of them be on his side?

James thought he had learned his lesson. Honestly, it wasn't like he _normally_ went behind a girl's back like that. It was just… it was Lily! She'd always claimed to hate him and if she didn't show up he didn't want to look like a fool…

It was a poor excuse and he knew it. But suffering through his father's lessons on Gryffindor pride and loyalty, accompanied by stern lectures on how to treat a woman right was a bit too much for him to handle anymore. Luckily, today was his last day on probation. There was only about a month left before school started and he'd like to spend a bit of that with his friends. Going with Moony on full moon nights, regaling Wormtail with escapades he'd missed out on, planning pranks with Sirius—

James scowled. He still didn't know what to do about Sirius and Lily. He may have screwed up but what gave them the right to hook up like that? What gave his best mate the right to snog, much less _shag_, the girl he'd had his eye on for years? His heart clenched every time he thought of that night and seeing Sirius and Lily together, disheveled. He couldn't get over that girl. He'd been trying since the first time she'd declined a date with him.

He was pissed off at her, but he had to get her to forgive him. And not screw Padfoot anymore. He was still debating on whether or not he wanted to make up with Padfoot… the traitor. The way James was feeling, he might have to use his fists on the bloke before he was even ready to _think_ about forgiveness.

~~~…~~~

It was nearly two in the morning and the moon was full. Sirius was still up. It had been a month since James had spoken to Sirius without sounding angry. Sirius wondered if Prongs and Moony and Wormtail were together. It had only been a few days since Lily and Sirius had run into Moony in Diagon Alley.

Sirius was startled when Lily dropped into the grass with him. He was still in jeans and a t-shirt. Lily was in flannel pants and a tank top, obviously already prepared for bed.

"You worried about Remus?"

"A bit," he admitted. "He doesn't do well on full moon nights without…"

Lily noticed him trailing off. "Without…?" she prompted.

There was a minute or two of silence. Lily patiently waited it out. Sirius sighed. "You already know his secret. Might as well know mine too." His tone was morose. "I'm an unregistered Animagus."

Lily's eyes widened. "That's so dangerous, Sirius! And difficult magic! How in the world did you manage it? And why?"

"Well, when we figured out about Remus, we did some research and figured out that werewolves are harmless to animals. They scratch the hell out of themselves when they're alone, but they don't hurt animals. So we thought, 'Hey, an Animagus is an animal.' It took about… two and a half, three years, but we got it."

"'We?'" Lily quoted.

Sirius looked guilty when he realized his mistake. "You can't tell anyone, Lily."

She looked affronted. "Of course I won't tell anyone!"

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"So… what's your Animagus?" Her curiosity outweighed her disapproval. "And what's James'?"

"James turns into a stag," he told her, "Took him forever to get the hang of walking around with a coat rack on top of his head." He grinned at the memories. His smile faded when he remembered that James wasn't speaking to him. "I turn into a dog."

Lily noted his somber attitude and nudged him. "I know you're a dog, but what's your Animagus?"

It was a lame joke, but Sirius laughed anyways. "You want to see? It's been a month since I changed."

Lily gestured for him to get up and show her. He jumped to his feet and bowed with a flourish.

In moments, a big shaggy dog, perhaps an Irish Wolfhound, was in front of her. He stretched and yawned, showing off big white teeth and sinewy muscles. Then he stood still and looked at her expectantly. Lily gave him a quiet round of applause, smiling. He turned back to himself.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty cool. No wonder you get such great marks in Transfiguration."

"Yep. So you know the big Marauder secret." Sirius shook his head. "I can't believe I told the Perfect Prefect about it."

Lily smiled. "I promise I won't try to give a dog detention. Not sure how I'd explain that one to McGonagall." She yawned. "It's got to be nearly three in the morning. I'm going back to bed. Wake me up if you need anything. And lock the door when you're in."

Sirius saluted her and looked back up at the sky as she went in to bed.

~~~…~~~

Thanks for reading the second chapter of SBSA. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review.

Edit: Wow, so bloody negative. People act stupid when they're heartbroken. Though I admit, everyone's reactions were a little understated. Hope it's a bit better now.


	3. Part III

Not going to lie, it kind of made my week to have a review that seriously said "You ought to be ashamed of yourself." One of the best reviews I've ever seen. I also enjoyed "All the relationships you lamely and desperately tried to protray are fucked up."

Also, to Acemanissuchaboss, your love is accepted and returned my dear. I'm thinking a fall wedding. It'll be fabulous.

Anyways, now that the shout-outs and joking are over, enjoy the third part of this. Feel free to give constructive criticism, I love it. Also feel free to leave more scathing insults. Being the dirty heathen I am, I seldom am ashamed of myself.

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part III**

_The sweeter the apple, the blacker the core._

_Scratch a lover and find a foe!_

Dorothy Parker

Hogwarts letters had finally arrived. Sirius and Lily playfully fought over her letter before he let her have it. Julie Evans had watched, amused, and enjoyed her tea. When Lily let out an excited shriek, Mrs. Evan sputtered, coughing up the tea she had mistakenly inhaled.

"I'm Head Girl!"

Sirius was opening his letter and sipping at his juice. "Of course you are, Evans. You're the Perfect Prefect."

Lily ignored his mocking as she and her mother examined her new badge. Sirius looked over his letter and set it on the table. "Almost time to get back to school, already," he sighed.

But as summers went, it had not been a bad one.

~~~…~~~

The Potter household was in shock. They knew their son; they knew what a prankster he was, how many detentions he'd landed himself in. So when that badge had arrived, as overjoyed as his parents had been, there was a certain amount of doubt there too. _Had Dumbledore gone loony?_

The badge remained beside the letter on their dining room table, where James had left it. He almost thought that if he left it there, he'd wake up and it would all be a dream. But it was still there a week before school was to start, along with Dumbledore's letter.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Congratulations on your new post as Head Boy. I suspect you are wondering the reason I have chosen you to lead the student body this year, along with the Head Girl. I have several that I would like to give you, as I also suspect you are contemplating declining the position. Please meet me in my office after the welcoming fest and I shall explain it as well as I can."_

_Ever yours,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

James was miserable. Not only had his summer been wasted, the end of his sixth year ruined, his best friend lost and his chances with Lily tossed away, now he had to be responsible too. It was not shaping up to show a good final year at Hogwarts. To top it off, while his probation was over, it looked as though his training with his father had just begun. Bugger.

~~~…~~~

Marlene had not heard from Lily all summer. Granted, Lily knew that Marlene would be in Japan with her family but after the end of last term and seeing Lily with Sirius instead of James? Needless to say, as soon as she received Lily's letter asking to meet in Diagon Alley a week before term began, she wrote back with a resounding "YES!"

She did _not_ expect to see Sirius with Lily when they met. She eyed the handsome Quidditch Keeper, noting how Lily and he smiled at one another.

"You two've shacked up!" she accused in hushed tones as she hugged her best friend.

Lily flushed to match her hair. "Be quiet," she hissed back.

"Oh no, you have to tell me the entire story because last I heard, you and James were going to have a fantastic date and hopefully shag at the end of it."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You told her you wanted to shag James after the ball?"

"Of course not! She said that!"

Marlene did get the story from Lily as they began to shop. Sirius and Lily both needed new dress robes; Sirius because he'd grown taller, Lily because – to her despair – she'd gained a few inches around.

"I can't believe it," Lily's best friend told her. "I can't believe he acted like such a prick. And you! Grabbing Sirius like that! I don't know whether to be proud of you or disappointed."

"Yeah, well neither could I."

Marlene noticed her expression. "You're still in love with him, aren't you?" she asked gently.

Lily's green eyes glared at her but there wasn't much heat in them. "No one ever said it was love."

"But it was."

Sirius returned to the room after being fit for his robes. "Yeah, it was. But how can anyone think about him when they spend the entire summer with me?" he winked, trying to lighten the mood.

"The entire summer? Are you the reason I haven't heard from her? Kept her busy, did you?" Marlene teased.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her friends. "He is a fantastic snog. I'll consider renting him out to you for five galleons a day."

"Oo la la. You drive a hard bargain."

"Only five? I'm worth at least seven!" He pretended to be indignant.

"Not everyone likes biting, Sirius, darling."

When they finished getting robes, they moved on toward the bookstore. Unfortunately, being the weekend before term was to begin, there were quite a few students there. Including Remus, Peter, and – most unfortunately – James Potter.

Remus shifted awkwardly. He and Sirius had (mostly) made up but he hadn't told James. It was uncomfortable being in the middle of an argument between his best mates. Peter noticed the heat and wisely decided to stay with Remus.

"Black. What the hell are you doing with Evans?" James' hazel glare was fierce.

"A guy can't go shopping with his roommate?" Sirius deliberately egged him on.

James looked between Lily and Sirius. "He's serious? You're actually living with him?"

"Well, seeing as he didn't have anywhere else to go, I offered."

Sirius wasn't sure he liked the way Lily gripped his hand. It kind of felt like she was using that to make James mad. When he saw her expression, though, he changed his mind. It was more like she needed support to confront James.

"What did Sirius ever do to you, huh? He's been your best mate for six years and then you dump him and won't even listen to him apologize!" Lily's voice rose a bit. Remus and Peter glanced around, noticing the glances they were getting.

"Yeah, well, what kind of best mate sleeps with the girl you want to date?" James hissed back, low enough that everyone around them couldn't hear.

"What kind of guy makes out with someone in public when he's already asked another girl out?"

"What kind of girl goes and finds an empty classroom and—"

"That is quite enough, James."

His parents had appeared, carrying what looked to be a new broom wrapped in red paper with little golden snitches flying around on it.

James' mother was a small woman, hunched with age. Lily thought she must be at least seventy and must have been beautiful as a young witch. James got his cheekbones from her and if Lily were to make a guess, she'd say Mrs. Potter's hair had been jet black in the past, though it was gray now.

His father's hair was mostly absent. He still stood straight, though he had a cane to assist in that endeavor. He was around James' height of six-foot-two-inches tall, but James must have recently surpassed him. The intelligence that hid behind James' belligerence shone in both parents.

Lily could see why they had both been respected aurors in the past. They were intimidating, even as old as they were.

"Lily Evans, I presume. Very pleased to meet you," Mrs. Potter said with a smile. "I've heard you're quite the brilliant young woman. Top in Potions and Charms, is that correct?"

The young woman looked back and forth, searching for any signs of hostility. She found none. "Yes, ma'am."

"Very good. And Sirius, how have you been?" Mrs. Potter pulled the much taller young man into a hug. "I had hoped we would see you this summer but I see my son has not spoken to you."

Mr. Potter held out a hand to Sirius when Mrs. Potter released him. His handshake was still firm, though his arthritis must have pained him. "Son. Glad to see you're doing well." He tipped his head toward Marlene but did not say anything to her.

Marlene waved a bit but didn't come forward. Like Remus and Peter, she decided the sidelines were safest.

James watched his parents sullenly.

"Yeah, doing alright," Sirius responded.

"And you've been with Lily's family?"

"Yeah, her mom's great."

"Been feeding you well I see. You've put on a bit more muscle since the last time I saw you. Have you been practicing your Quidditch over the summer?"

"Haven't really had the chance. Lily's been holding my broom hostage until I finish the summer work they've assigned us."

"Now Miss Evans, why would you do a thing like that?" Mr. Potter winked. "Well, as soon as he's finished, he can have his broom back. Not a moment before, you hear me? Don't give in to his devilish charm."

Lily couldn't help smiling. How had these people parented such an intolerable prat? "No, sir, of course not."

"Well, we'll let you get on with your shopping. Have a good school year." Mrs. Potter smiled at Lily. "Come along James," she said sternly.

James gave the muggle-born girl a last glance before walking on with his parents. Remus smiled at Sirius and Lily before he and Peter followed them. As the group walked off, Lily could see James was between his parents and both seemed to be having a heated discussion with their son.

"Well, that was odd," Marlene said. "James' parents have never ignored me before."

"You find _that_ odd? No the fact that they, you know, were _nice_ to me?"

Marlene gave Lily an odd look. "James talks about you so much, they're practically in love with you. They think you're entirely too good for him, of course, but they hope he won't be such an ass for the rest of his life."

"You have _got_ to be joking."

Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets and his mischievous grin reappeared. "Not at all, Lily-pad. The dumb bloke doesn't shut up about you, even when he's at home. He keeps a picture of you that he bought off of Dorcas on his bedside table. His mum sighs over it sometimes and starts talking about what beautiful babies the two of you will have."

Lily wasn't sure if she should be horrified or mortified. The result was mixture of both. Pretty soon, her freckles were hidden under her blush.

~~~…~~~

"Mum, she sleeps with my best mate and _I'm_ the one who gets scolded?"

"James, before you go criticizing someone else's house, make sure your own is clean first. Don't think I haven't heard you and Sirius talk about all of those girls you've been with. As I've said a million times, boys are jerks and girls are stupid. And both are even more so when they are infatuated. You both made mistakes. All three of you made mistakes! But as you're my son, you're the one I can scold. And if you feel as strongly for this girl as you've been claiming for the past year, the two of you will make things work."

"Alright."

"Just make sure she isn't in love with Sirius. He is rather handsome."

"Mum!"

~~~…~~~

Mrs. Evans dropped Sirius and Lily off at Kings Cross station on her way to work. She left the car running as she got out to hug Lily, then Sirius. Sirius was a little surprised when she included him, but it was nice to be embraced by a mum once in a while. He was even more shocked though when the adult woman put a hand on either side of his face and pulled him down to place a kiss on his forehead. She did the same to her daughter.

"For good luck," she told the boy she almost considered a son. Even through the food fights that had erupted and the garden which had grown a huge patch of edible mushrooms overnight (Sirius loved mushrooms and knew Lily despised them), she had grown very fond of the boy. "Feel free to come home for Christmas holidays. Though, I'll understand if you want to stay at school."

"We'll do our best to come home, mum," Lily told her, since Sirius seemed to be at a loss for words. The two women kindly ignored how Sirius' eyes were a little moist.

When Mrs. Evans had left, Sirius and Lily headed inside, pushing their trunks on carts. "Your mum's a good lady," Sirius told Lily thoughtfully. "I, er, never asked this over the summer, but… um, where's your dad?"

Lily shrugged. "Dunno. He goes out of town on business a lot. He got a new job right after I started at Hogwarts and he doesn't get much of a chance to come home." Her smile was brilliant when she looked at Sirius. "If you come home for Christmas though, you'll probably get to meet him. He always makes certain to be home for Christmas."

Sirius grinned back. "Sounds good."

They had arrived early since Mrs. Evans could only be a few hours late for work. Lily wanted to go ahead onto the platform, so Sirius shrugged and followed. The ended up sitting on their trunks and chatting for an hour.

"Oi, Lily!"

Lily looked around, finally spotting Dorcas. She left her cart to embrace her best friend. "Dorcas! How was your summer?"

"Bloody great, not that you'd care." Dorcas gave her a mock scowl. "You didn't write all summer!"

"Well, neither did you, you big hypocrite!"

"I did too! I just forgot to send the letters." Dorcas stuck out her tongue. "And I had to hear from bloody Marlene what happened at the ball!"

Sirius managed to push both carts over, but huffed exaggeratedly. "Birds, always making a bloke do all the heavy lifting." He leaned on his cart and gave Dorcas a little waggle of his fingers. "Hey there Brooks. I see McKinnon's been spreading rumors."

Dorcas tossed a knut at his head. He caught it and tucked it into his pocket. "Not rumors when you only tell your best friends."

Lily managed a weak smile. Dorcas noticed her unhappiness. "If you'd like, I could 'accidently' lose my grip on my beater's bat during practice. Or, you know, if it's raining I could mistake his fat head for a Bludger. I'm one of the best Beaters in the school, so he can't really throw me off the team."

Lily managed a small laugh at that and Sirius winked at Dorcas in thanks. "No, no. We need to beat the Slytherins for the Cup again this year and giving the captain a concussion isn't helpful for that. As tempting as it is." Lily took her trunk from Sirius and managed to stay casual as she asked, "So, have you heard who the Head Girl is?"

"No, and I thought for sure it'd be—" Dorcas gave her a suspicious glance and let out a very Marlene-like squeal when Lily showed her the badge. "I knew it! I absolutely bloody knew it! Congratulations, Lily!"

Sirius gave them a very dramatic sigh. "Yes, the Perfectly Precious Prefect has been given even more power."

He helped them get their trunks onto the train and stowed them.

"Sirius, you're going to have to think of a new name for her. She can't be the Perfectly Precious Prefect anymore since she's Head Girl."

Lily gave Dorcas a dirty look. "Don't remind him."

"I already thought of one," Sirius exclaimed with obvious delight. He cleared his throat and gave a wicked smile that had made more than one professor wonder if a quick _Protego_ would do them any good. "The Hellacious Head Hottie."

Lily groaned while Dorcas let out a deep laugh. "It's perfect, Black!" Dorcas was looking at Lily's badge speculatively. "Think we could charm it to say that?"

The redhead placed a hand over the badge protectively. "I'll curse the both of you if you try," she declared.

"What are they going to try?" Marlene asked as she opened the door to their compartment.

"We're going to make her badge say 'Hellacious Head Hottie,'" Dorcas told their roommate.

Now Marlene was looking at the badge as if it were incredibly interesting. Lily decided that she would have to put a few protective charms on it. The train began to move.

"Well, I need to get up to the prefect compartment," she said hastily, before the three started plotting how to get the badge away from her before she could escape.

"Fine, fine, abandon us for those boring wankers," Dorcas said, pouting comically. "You better come back though. You still haven't told me why you're here with this fool." Dorcas jabbed a thumb toward Sirius.

"Hopefully I'll be back before too long."

She made her escape and the three she left behind eyed one another warily.

"So Black," Marlene began slowly, "How is our Lily doing?"

Sirius pulled his shaggy hair back into a ponytail and tied it back with an elastic he'd nicked from Lily's dresser. "Dunno. She doesn't talk about him much. I didn't think she liked him as much as I guess she does…"

Marlene rolled her pretty blue-green eyes. "Of course you didn't. She's spent the last few years trying to convince you lot that she hates him."

"Does she really… you know…"

"Love him?" Marlene and Dorcas looked at one another for a moment.

"I suppose she might," Dorcas finally answered. "She definitely has some very strong feelings for him."

"The real question is this; what are we going to do about it?" Marlene asked.

Dorcas and Sirius both looked mystified. "Castrate him?" Dorcas finally guessed. "I dunno."

The blond girl shook her head and looked toward the ceiling as if to ask, _why am I stuck with these idiots?_ "Not what I meant, Dork. What I meant," Marlene continued before Dorcas could protest the hated nickname, "was 'what are we going to do to _fix_ this?"

The sole source of testosterone in the compartment snorted. "In that case, Brooks' idea might have merit," he muttered. "Probably won't have any inclination to kiss other girls then."

Marlene was giving him a predatory look that he wasn't sure he appreciated. "You're his best friend…" she purred.

He snorted again. "In case you haven't noticed, James and I aren't exactly getting on right now."

"But you have been best friends for six years."

"So?"

Dorcas seemed to catch on. "So, you can give us an inside track for how to get them together."

Sirius glared at them. "Ever considered that Lily might not _want_ to be with him anymore?"

The door slammed open and all three jumped. Lily was white under her freckles and she leaned against the door. Sirius leaped to his feet and went to her side.

"Hell, Evans, what's wrong?" he asked, sounding a little panicked. "Was it the damned Slytherins, because I know some damned good curses."

"_James fucking Potter is Head Boy!_" she cried out before bursting into tears.

That made them all freeze. "What?" Dorcas asked, as if Lily might have been Confounded.

~~~…~~~

Lily went to the prefect compartment, wondering who her fellow head would be. She should have owled Remus to ask if he had gotten it, but since her barn owl, Romeo, had died last winter, she hadn't gotten a new one and Sirius apparently had nothing but disdain for anything that didn't have fur. Lily managed a small smile at the thought of Remus being her fellow head.

It seemed that she was the first to arrive. The Head Boy and Girl always had a meeting first, before the prefects arrived. Lily settled in her normal seat, closest to the window and looked out at the countryside. It was drizzling but she supposed that helped keep the landscape as green and beautiful as it was.

"So, I say we just – oh. Um, hi Lily. Evans," James corrected himself.

Merlin, her eyes were greener than he remembered. And her hair seemed even brighter. And her skin was kissed by even more freckles than before. James found himself imagining his lips trailing over each freckle to her pink lips. The familiar feeling of breathlessness that he felt around Lily returned. His chest felt tight as he remember who he'd last seen her with and what he'd said.

"Listen, Lily, I'm really sorry about Diagon Alley. I lost my temper."

She was staring at him as if he were a Hungarian Horntail. He got the feeling she hadn't heard a word he said. He reached out and touched her shoulder. She leapt like he'd attempted to murder her.

"Potter, what are you doing in here?" she looked past him, searching behind him.

James glanced over his shoulder. They were the only ones in the compartment. "I'm Head Boy," he told her, brows furrowed.

The eyes he adored were wide and disbelieving. "Not Remus?"

He felt a flash of irritation. It seemed she preferred _any_ of his mates over him. "No, not Remus. If you'd like me to go get him so you can snog him too, I can. Though I don't think you're his type," James snapped.

There was the anger he recognized. A quick flash and her temper was ablaze. "Sure, and I'll go get what's-her-name. Felicia Hackleburst? Was that it? I'm sure she's just dying to see you again. The way she was snogging you, I'm sure you'd had plenty of meetings before then."

"At least you didn't catch me shagging her in an empty classroom."

"Just because I didn't catch you doesn't mean it didn't happen!"

"At least I didn't grab your best mate when I was supposed to be on a date with you!"

"No, you just grabbed a random girl! And you sure aren't treating Sirius like he's your best mate."

"Maybe if I hadn't caught him dick-deep in the girl I'm in love with, that might have changed!"

Lily felt a pang of guilt at that. "Sirius deserves better friends than you."

"Yeah, you're a great replacement for that. Best mates in exchange for a dumb slag. Brilliant bloke, he is."

"James Potter, I hate you! I can't believe I agreed to go to that stupid dance with you in the first place!"

Furious tears filled her eyes and she stormed out. James followed her, ignoring Remus who was standing right outside the door. "Going to skive off Head duties too? I can see Black's a great influence on you. I hope you have a good time with him, Evans!"

"If you're so smart, you can just run the meeting by yourself!"

People were beginning to stare. Lily ran past them without stopping.

James stomped back into the prefect compartment and threw himself into a chair. Remus entered carefully and shut the door, locking it behind him.

"You alright there, Prongs?"

"Fine!"

Remus shuffled uncomfortably. It was only a few seconds before James continued.

"What the hell is her problem? It was only a kiss!"

"James, you did ask her to the ball and for once she agreed. I think she expected you to be waiting for her, not be with another girl."

James took a deep breath and hid his face in his hands. "Why Padfoot though?"

"Probably because you hurt him almost as much as you hurt her."

James glared at him accusingly. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"Mate, I'm not on anyone's side. I think the lot of you are being idiots."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Remus sighed. "James, who is the only girl you've ever asked out multiple times? Who is the only girl that has refused you more than once? Who have you talked about constantly for the past few years?" Remus took a seat next to his friend, but stayed carefully out of fist range. "When you obsess about a girl that much, the people around you assume that she's going to be the only girl. Not to say that Lily wasn't an idiot too. She should have just gone off on you, then you could have made up by now. And Sirius shouldn't have gone anywhere with her, knowing how you feel. But we had been being pricks to him."

James hid his face in his palms again. "I've mucked it all up."

"Yes, you have."

"She's never going to say yes again."

"Probably not."

The curses coming from James' mouth were impressive. He looked up and his glasses had palm prints on them. He whipped them off and scrubbed at them furiously with his shirt. When he put them back on, his gaze was fevered. "Moony, you have to help me fix it."

Remus was alarmed. "Er, James…"

James groaned. "Every time I see her though, I can't help it! I just keep seeing her and Padfoot in that classroom again. And then I can't seem to shut my mouth. I'm pretty sure I love the girl and I just called her a slag."

"Yes, I, er… heard."

James let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whimper. "Dammit."

~~~…~~~

The other prefects were finally allowed in. Most of them had worked with Lily in the past and had a great deal of respect for her. Therefore, James should have expected the dirty looks he received.

The Slytherins were the exception. A few of them clapped him on the back and congratulated him on getting rid of the "filthy mudblood." After the first one, James drew his wand and gave them a pointed look, daring them to call her another bad name.

Snape broke his house's trend. His jaw seemed to be clenched as tightly as possible and his wand hand, hidden in the pocket of his robes, was shaking with fury. Remus intercepted the angry look and leapt to distract James before he, too, noted it.

"So, I'm James Potter, if any of you didn't know," James said awkwardly. "I'm Head Boy this year. Lily Evans, you all know her, er… wasn't feeling well, but she's Head Girl." James pointed his wand in the direction of the Slytherins as he heard a mutter of "mudblood." "Any of you brave enough to say that out loud?" He glare was icy. "No? Didn't think so. You'll keep that filthy word to yourself or your most private bits will be itching for weeks, got that?"

There was absolute silence.

"Good. Now, Lily and I haven't gotten the chance to work out a schedule yet and I'm sure some of you will have conflicts. Get your schedules to me or her as quickly as possible, alright? As for patrols, no unfair docking of points, just because someone is from another house. And as prefects, set a bloody good example for your House. No fighting in the halls, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, we're going to have to meet again soon to do schedules. Next meeting will be a week from Thursday. We just needed to meet up so everyone knew who the other prefects are." James waved around the room. "Take a good look. The Head Girl is Lily Evans who I'm sure you all recognize."

The nasty looks were back. James did his best to ignore them. "Right, well, get going, you lot."

Soon Remus and James were the only ones left in the compartment. James ruffled his hair and slumped in his seat. "She didn't come back," he muttered.

"Of course she didn't. You chased her off pretty thoroughly."

They sat in silence, too depressed to go anywhere. "I should apologize."

"Do you really think she'll listen?" Remus scoffed. James shook his head. "Neither do I." Remus squirmed in his seat. It was unusual enough that James looked up at him.

"What's eating you, Moony?"

The sandy-haired young man pulled at a loose thread on his pre-owned robes. "Have you spoken at all with Sirius?"

James' scowl had returned. "No. Why? Have you?"

"Well… yes. I ran into him and Lily in Diagon Alley halfway through the summer."

"And you didn't bloody tell me they were living together?"

Remus stiffened. "No, I did not."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because I knew you'd act like this. Like a child."

"Did you forgive him? It was your life he almost ruined," James reminded, as if Remus couldn't remember.

"Of course I haven't completely forgiven him but we always knew Sirius was a git. He acted stupid, but I don't think he knew that Snape would actually be fool enough to try to get under the Whomping Willow."

"He still shouldn't have done it. He didn't even try to stop him when he saw him! I had to. If I hadn't… anyways, what if he'd seen me or Peter or Sirius change or what if Dumbledore hadn't known about you?"

"Those are all 'what ifs,' James. Everything turned out alright and Sirius knows he's an idiot."

James flicked a folded-up scrap of paper at the window. "I was going to forgive him. I looked at the map and saw him with Lily and I thought she was trying to get him to tell her what was going on and I was going to go tell him that I forgave him. Instead, I walk in and they're both scrambling to get dressed."

Remus shut his eyes and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Look, you both made mistakes. In fact, all three of you made mistakes. But obviously Lily is upset that you're being a prick to Sirius."

"I thought she'd be more upset about me being a prick to her."

"Well, yes, she's upset about that too. But she feels like she deserves it. And you know how she is about her friends. She'll only start being really upset for herself when she's done being upset on Sirius' behalf."

"Great, so I can look forward to Lily being pissed at me for the rest of my life."

"Not if you get Sirius on your side."

James scowled. "I don't particularly want him on my side right now. Besides, he's got the girl, why the hell would he want to change that." He knew he might be a little biased, but even Sirius had admitted – only once – that Lily was fit and probably great in bed. He'd shut up quickly when James punched him.

"James, Sirius and Lily are _not_ sleeping with each other!" Remus finally blew up a bit.

"Uh, yeah, I think they are."

"No, James, they aren't. They got together for one night because they were both pissed at you and Lily was drunk and they haven't so much as seen each other naked since then."

"So he took advantage of her being drunk?"

Remus groaned. "You aren't getting the point. Okay, you love Lily, right? You think she's brilliant and fit and all that jazz, right? Sirius isn't blind, mate. He knows she's brilliant and he's got the advantage of having slept with her. You and I both know Sirius is perfectly capable of getting any girl to date him. _So why isn't he dating Evans?_ Because he knows you're in love with her."

James was quiet for a little while. He sounded vulnerable when he finally answered. "I can't do it, Moony. Not yet. I've fancied her for six years and loved her for probably two. I can't forgive him just yet."

"Alright," Remus said quietly, standing up. "Alright. But remember you've been best mates with Sirius for six years too. Remember what we've been through together. Mates before dates and all that."

James stood too. "I know."

"Let's go find Peter. He's probably wondering where we are."

"We'll just buy him a bunch of pumpkin pasties and he'll forget all about it."

~~~…~~~

Lily had confessed the whole story to her three friends. After she was done telling them, they sat quietly for a few minutes, beyond belief. Then Sirius had made to go find James, but Lily stopped him with a tearful shake of her head.

"I'll kill him for you." Sirius promised. "Azkaban might be worth it."

That managed to get a small smile from his redheaded friend. "No, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Anyways, there are other ways to get revenge," Dorcas stated. "And they won't involve Azkaban."

Lily curled up halfway in Sirius' lap, with his arms around her, and listened as Dorcas, Marlene and Sirius invented increasingly ridiculous plots for revenge. They ranged from pushing James off the Astronomy Tower to using the Astronomy Tower as a launch pad to send him to the moon. Lily particularly liked the one where they suggested slipping him some Polyjuice Potion to turn him into Mulciber's girlfriend and dropping him off in the Slytherin common room.

Pretty soon they were nearing Hogwarts. The girls kicked Sirius out so they could change into their school uniforms. Sirius was forced to change in the bathroom. When he exited, he ran into Remus.

"Moony," Sirius said. "Did you hear what James said to Lily?" Sirius was good at being blunt.

"Yes. He's being an idiot."

"The only reason I haven't killed him is because Lily asked me not to."

Remus studied his friend. "You care about her."

"Of course I bloody care about her. She's been my only friend all summer. She let me move in with her."

Remus sighed and folded his arms. "Alright then. Take care of her until we get this mess sorted, okay? You've probably heard as much of the news as I have. England isn't exactly the safest place in the world for muggle-borns right now. And the Slytherins are on the other side, for the most part."

Sirius' look was dark, dangerous. "I know," he growled, sounding much like his Animagus counterpart.

"I'm also concerned that Snape might take advantage of the current situation to try to approach Lily again. And his friends wouldn't exactly approve of her. It could get messy."

The dark-haired boy gave a sharp nod. "She'll be safe."

James slid back into the compartment, having heard enough of the conversation to feel a fresh surge of jealousy and anger.

~~~…~~~

Lily went back to the prefect compartment at the end of their journey. James was already there, leaning back in a chair with his feet kicked up.

"We have to help Hagrid with the first years," she said quietly.

"I know. Lily, I'm really sorry—"

"Save it, Potter. Let's just go help Hagrid."

They were the first off the train and led the first years to their shaggy friend who was bellowing, "Firs' years this way!"

Lily smiled at the frightened kids, remembering how it felt to be one of them, and helped them into the boats. Once they were all loaded, James and Lily went to the last remaining carriage. The ride to the castle was silent.

~~~…~~~

Right, so more of James being an asshole. So far, we're going to keep on that 4 week schedule as I have jack shit written on chapter 5. Well… there's 6 pages written on it but seeing as this has 16 pages, 6 is jack shit.

Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave feedback.

Still not ashamed of myself.


	4. Part IV

Here's the fourth chapter. It's about 6.5k words. If you haven't noticed, each chapter is longer than the next. I'm doing that on purpose. I'm trying to keep the chapters long but they probably won't end up being any longer than 20 pages each, especially now that school is starting back up.

I didn't get as many funny reviews this time, but I did enjoy the ones I got. Hope some of you enjoy this. Hope it gives the rest of you something to flame about.

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part IV**

_Living well is the best revenge._

Dorothy Parker

The feast was wonderful, as always. There was new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, as usual. The first years looked terrified, routine. But there was one significant thing missing, which all the returning students and the professors noticed.

There was no big Marauder prank.

Now, people weren't stupid. They saw that Sirius was not sitting with the other Marauders and they saw who he _was_ sitting with. Some had even heard a bit of Lily and James' explosive argument on the train. However, not being stupid, they were uneasy. Everyone knew Sirius and James were closer than best friends, closer than brothers. Even if there was a girl involved, the two couldn't stay angry with one another long.

It meant there would be an even bigger prank later.

The Ravenclaws all decided it would be smartest to stay far away from the Marauders so there would be nothing for them to retaliate against. The Hufflepuffs were a steady bunch. They rarely had any trouble with the Marauders and didn't anticipate any this year (unless their Quidditch team was better than they remembered – which all of them, even their Captain, doubted).

The Slytherins, however, were a vindictive bunch and some of them saw this separation of forces as the perfect chance for revenge. It was those vengeful glares that had Lily shuddering every time she caught the glance of Mulciber or Avery or any of their friends.

Even the professors were not naïve enough to believe that their promotion of James Potter to Head Boy was responsible for the calm.

Perhaps that was why, during dessert, Flitwick poked cautiously at his pudding with his spoon and wand. When nothing exploded, he tucked in with gusto, evidently expecting something to disrupt his enjoyment of dessert.

Sirius sent glares down the table toward James from his spot next to Lily throughout the feast. The glares were reciprocated and more than once the two boys found themselves staring at one another. James couldn't help noticing how closely Lily was sitting to Sirius. He conveniently missed that Marlene was just as close to her.

They managed to make it through the feast without a fight breaking out. James stayed behind, waving Peter and Remus off. He stayed as all of the other students trickled away. He tried to follow Lily's head of red hair through the crowd but she was quite a bit shorter that much of the student body. He lost her as Sirius stepped behind her. Instead he stared at the back of Sirius' head. Few people at Hogwarts were taller than Sirius.

The tables were empty. Most of the professors were gone.

"Mr. Potter."

James stood. "Headmaster."

"If you would follow me, we can go to my office."

James nodded.

"So, James, how was your summer? I trust it was relaxing?"

James thought about the long hours in his father's study being lectured and the long hours with the house elves learning humility. He snorted. "Not particularly, sir."

"Something to do with your and Sirius' current rocky relationship?"

"Somewhat, sir."

They arrived at the statue guarding Dumbledore's office. "James, it is best to remember who our friends are during times like these. Sometimes, in fits of anger, people do things they don't mean."

"I understand, sir." It made James wonder if Dumbledore really did know everything that occurred at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's office held enough curious artifacts to momentarily distract James. He was leaning in to examine what looked to be a chalice of some sort when Dumbledore spoke. "Have a seat."

The headmaster was already behind his desk. He studied the Head Boy over his half-moon spectacles. The silence got to be too much for James.

"Why me?" he blurted out. "Me 'n' Sirius hold the record for most detentions in well over a hundred years – we looked it up. So why me? Why not Mo – I mean Remus? Wouldn't he be the better choice?"

"Your friend Moony," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at that and James wondered if he knew the meaning behind the other nicknames as well, "was considered. However, he lacks something that you and your friend Mr. Black possess in force."

A little bit of defensive anger flowed through James at that and he leapt to defend his friend. "Is it because he's a werewolf? He didn't have anything to do with that prank on Snape, that was all Sirius. And Remus is way smarter than me or Sirius! So just because—"

Dumbledore held up his hand and James stopped abruptly. James could see his amusement. "The decision has nothing to do with the events of last year or with Mr. Lupin's unfortunate condition. The reason you were chosen over he or Mr. Black…" he noticed James' look of disbelief. "Yes, Mr. Black was considered," Dumbledore told him, bemused. "But the reason _you_ were chosen is for your _charisma_, Mr. Potter. You have a great talent for leadership. Making you Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team last year was somewhat of a test. You rose to the occasion beautifully. Your reaction to your best friend's actions also secured the spot for you. I have said this before and I will likely say it again: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. Despite your previous altercations with Mr. Snape, you saved his life. That, I believe, deserves some recognition."

"But Remus—"

"Unfortunately does not share your ability to lead," Dumbledore smiled gently, "as evidenced by how many detentions you and Mr. Black have served."

James was silent for a moment. "I guess that makes sense."

"I am pleased you think so. I assume you are no longer planning to decline the position?"

"No sir."

"Excellent. Now, Mr. Potter, I want you to be aware of this; the world outside of Hogwarts is a bit chaotic. Some of that will leak into Hogwarts. Your professors will do their best to ensure that none of the students are affected by this, but I know some students are already taking steps to find their place outside of these walls. Please be aware that some incidents may occur. Do your best to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

James studied the headmaster's expression. He remembered the reports of muggle killings and the attacks on muggle-borns. "You have something planned, don't you?"

"'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,'" Dumbledore quoted, reaching a hand up to stroke Fawkes' neck. He returned his blue gaze to James. "I, myself, would like to be considered a good man, wouldn't you?"

James nodded wordlessly.

"Now, you should be getting to bed. I trust you remembered the list of passwords I sent you over the summer? Yes? Alright. The entrance to the Head Tower is on the fourth floor, behind the portrait of Harrieta the Horrible. You know the one? Good, good. Off you go."

James nodded and began to walk. He knew exactly where the portrait was, just like he knew exactly where the Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms were. Lily would probably be there already. James ruffled his hair. That girl would be the death of him. Luckily, living with her would give him plenty of chances to talk to her.

So he thought.

He entered the room that was supposed to be his home for the remainder of his time at Hogwarts. The first thing he was impressed by was how cozy it was. The common room wasn't too big and had lovely, dark wood floors. There were two armchairs and a couch in front of the fire. Over the mantle hung a giant rendition of the Hogwarts crest. To either side of the room was a heavy wooden door. "Head Boy" was inscribed over the left door, "Head Girl" over the right.

His assumption of having Lily to himself, however, was proven desperately wrong. She was curled up on the couch with her head on – who else? – Sirius Black's shoulder. They were muttering quietly, but when the portrait slammed shut (James admitted he probably put a bit too much force into it) they both looked back at him. He noted that Lily's eyes looked red and puffy, even from ten feet away.

"Getting cozy?" he asked nastily.

Lily rubbed roughly at her eyes and Sirius sent him an angry glare. He almost – _almost_ – felt bad. Then Sirius whispered something to Lily and kissed her on the forehead. Lily smiled at Sirius and muttered something back. The raging monster James recognized as jealousy reared up.

Lily stood and started to walk to her bedroom. "If I catch you and Black shagging in the Head dorms, I'll give you both detention for a month."

"I'll make sure to return the favor if I catch you and Hackleburst, then."

Lily padded into her bedroom and shut the door with a slam. James watched her go before turning back to look at Sirius. "What the fuck are you still doing here?"

Sirius kicked his legs onto the couch and leaned back against the arm. "Lily asked me to stay. Said she'd be right back. Got a problem with it?"

"Yeah, I don't want you anywhere near her."

"Well, that's your problem, isn't it, mate? She seems to want me around."

"This is my dorm too," James retorted angrily, "and I don't want you in it."

"Then I guess I'll just have to go wait in her bedroom while she changes, won't I?" Sirius made to stand up but James pushed him back down.

"Whatever, stay here. But if I fucking see you snogging her or – or anything else, I will fucking murder you, got it?"

Sirius' gray eyes were cold. "You had your chance and you buggered it up. If she wants to snog me, that's her choice. You don't get a say anymore."

James nearly hauled off and punched him. "I know," he hissed.

They stared at one another angrily for a moment before Sirius' gaze softened. "Look, Prongs, I know you hate me, but you screwed up. It's going to have to be you that fixes it. She still—"

Lily's door opened again and they both turned to look at her. She had changed from her robes into a tank top and sleep shorts with little broomsticks on them. "You coming, Sirius?"

Any tension that had been lost returned. "You're sleeping in there with her?" James hissed.

Sirius shrugged and left the couch.

As soon as Lily's door closed, James stormed into his room. He stood perfectly still in front of the closed door for a full minute. Then he grabbed the nearest object and hurled it against the stone walls. He continued until everything that had been in the room was lying on the floor, broken. Then he cursed and yelled until he was hoarse.

Finally he collapsed on the bed and looked around. For a second, he'd though he and Sirius could go back to normal. He thought they still that bond between them that had made them best mates for six years. Then Lily bloody Evans had to ruin it.

_That girl will kill me,_ he thought and started to clean up the mess he'd made.

~~~…~~~

James woke up early, planning to go for a run before anyone else was up. When he left his room, he noticed that Sirius was on the couch. Much as he wanted to wake him out of spite, he valued his privacy more. Too bad Sirius was a light sleeper.

Sirius sat up and looked around with bleary eyes. "Prongs?"

James stopped on his way out of the dorm. "What?"

"Yer mah bes' mate, ya know? I love you, man."

James fidgeted with his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt. "I know Padfoot. Go back to sleep."

"Righ'."

Sirius laid back down and was out in seconds. James ruffled his hair with a sigh and exited through the portrait hole.

It was early enough that the sun had not risen. There was mist over the grounds and the air was cool but not cold. James was glad for that. He wasn't wearing a shirt as he didn't like the feeling of sweaty fabric.

He stretched just outside the castle doors, spending a few minutes getting loose. He started off slow, jogging to the Quidditch pitch. Once there, he sped up a bit as he circled the pitch. For him, it was a good place to run. No one was ever out on the pitch as early as he was. When he scheduled practices, he always had them start right about when he would finish jogging. The early hour that the Gryffindors practiced ensured that their strategies wouldn't be seen by the other houses. As much as he loved the late nights roaming with his friends, he preferred the early mornings for himself. It was quiet and peaceful on the grounds then.

Sometimes, on very rare occasions, Sirius would join him and they would run silently or talk about serious topics that they wouldn't normally talk about. Sometimes it was about the future. Sometimes it was about their families. Sometimes it even turned to Lily and James' feelings about her.

James resisted the urge to sigh. Going with Felicia Hackleburst to that dance and snogging her had felt so natural. It had almost been like he'd forgotten that Lily had finally said yes. He didn't know how that was even possible. When she'd agreed to go with him, he'd felt like he was soaring. After the fight with Sirius, James hadn't been fully happy until she had told him she would meet him in the Great Hall.

He thought of all the girls he'd snogged over the years. People thought of Sirius as the playboy but in reality, Sirius had only shagged a few girls. He'd kissed a few more but had only had two serious girlfriends.

James, on the other hand, had been with a lot of girls while trying to forget about Lily. In terms of girls he'd had sex with… he thought it might be in double digits. It might be in the mid-teens. And he'd snogged plenty of girls. He'd gone on dates with just as many. Each time Lily rejected him, he'd find someone new to take out. He suddenly felt kind of sleazy and he remembered one of his father's lessons.

They'd been in his study as usual. "James," his father had said, "women are more fragile than you would believe. The smallest thing will break her heart and make her cry. When your mother and I were still at Hogwarts, one of her friends had a dog back at home. Now, she'd never met the dog for herself and she and the other girl weren't even all that good of friends. But when that dog ran out in the street and got hit by a car and your mother found out, she sat and cried for an hour.

"But they're also much stronger than you would believe. They'll haul themselves up off the ground, dust themselves off and start doing what needs to be done to help everyone else out. At least, that's what a truly good woman does. When my parents died, I wouldn't go out for days. Your mother knew them too and loved them also. But when she saw the state I was in, she dragged me out of bed and made me do what needed to be done. She took care of their affairs and their funerals and stayed by my side through all of the condolences. That's how I knew she was the one for me.

"But if you break a woman's heart, if you use her, she'll remember that. She'll remember that a man did her wrong and it will be hard for her to ever trust one again. So if you gain a woman's trust and you think that she might be the woman you'd like to spend the rest of your life with, you better be damn sure you keep that trust. Otherwise you'll be working harder to get her back than you worked to get her in the first place." The meaningful stare his father had given him then had been almost too much to bear.

James finished his jog and climbed up into the stands to watch the sun rise. If his father knew the kinds of things he'd said to Lily the previous day, he'd have him washing dishes with the house elves until his grandkids were at Hogwarts. His father might also try out that muggle phrase of washing his mouth out with soap.

The sunrise was beautiful. James made his way back out of the stands, hoping that Sirius and Lily would still be asleep. He knew himself. If he saw them together again, he might not be able to control his mouth.

For once, luck was on his side. Sirius was still snoozing on the couch and Lily's door was still shut. James gathered his uniform for the day and took a long shower, letting the hot water wash away the sweat and stress he'd already gathered. It was still early – too early for breakfast. If Sirius hadn't been on the couch, if he and Lily hadn't been fighting, he might have waited in the common room with a book to walk Lily down to breakfast. As it was, he ended up back in bed, fully clothed.

_Just a little while_, he thought and closed his eyes.

~~~…~~~

Sirius awoke with a major pain in his back. It seemed that he'd curled up on the couch after leaving Lily's room. He'd been hoping to talk to James again, but he had never emerged from his room. Sirius checked the time. James had probably already been out for his morning run too.

The young man stretched, hoping to get the pain out of his back. As he was doing so, Lily came out, already dressed in her uniform.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?"

He looked sheepish. "I fell asleep on the couch."

"You do know there is an extra bed in each bedroom, right? If you're tired and don't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower, I'll set the bed up for you."

Sirius pulled his hair back into a little ponytail. It had become his new style over the summer. He thought he looked sexy with his bangs hanging around his face and the rest of his hair pulled back. "Alright, I'll take you up on that next time." He looked down at his rumpled clothing. "I ought to get changed. Want to come with me or will I meet you down at breakfast?"

They had plenty of time before classes started. "I'll go with you. Dorcas and Marlene will probably be getting ready now."

There were a few students on their way to breakfast while Lily and Sirius walked to Gryffindor. Lily waved and smiled and tried to ignore any looks of pity that people tried to give her. No one had heard the full story but plenty of people had heard them shouting at one another on the train. Normally, Lily Evans and James Potter yelling at one another would be nothing to worry about. However, normally Lily didn't run off in tears and skip the first prefect meeting of the year.

The Gryffindors, at least, had enough sense not to say anything. Lily ran up to the girl's dormitory while Sirius went to his dorm to change.

Marlene was putting on her mascara and Dorcas was digging in her trunk for something. Alice was still in bed with her covers over her head, attempting to ignore her roommates. Mary was absent.

"Lose your knickers again, Dorcas?" Lily asked, snickering.

"Always thinking about my knickers, Lily. I'm going to have to start rethinking your sexuality if you keep it up," Dorcas replied, finally emerging from her trunk with a clean pair of socks.

"Hey Lily. How was last night with the Head Bastard?" Marlene asked, emerging from the bathroom.

Lily shrugged. "Didn't see much of him. Sirius said he wasn't happy about him being there though."

"He's just jealous of Sirius. He'll get over it soon and be asking you out again in no time."

"And you better make him work at it," Dorcas chimed in. "The bastard."

"Why would I say yes again?"

Marlene gave her a doubtful look. "You know why. He may have done something stupid but you still like him."

Lily sat on Marlene's bed. "He is still being an ass to Sirius. And if I say yes again, who's to say he won't do the same thing?"

"What does Sirius have to do with any of this?" Marlene asked.

"If he can't even forgive his best friend then he hasn't changed at all. And it would really hurt Sirius if James forgave me but wouldn't forgive him."

Dorcas and Marlene exchanged looks. "Alright," Marlene admitted, "I'll give you that one. But your other argument is still weak."

"How's that?" Lily was indignant.

"James isn't the type to cheat. He made a mistake but I don't think he's stupid enough to make it twice," Dorcas told her.

Lily hugged Marlene's stuffed rabbit. "What if he only wanted to go out with me to have sex or snog?" she mumbled.

Marlene joined her on the bed and hugged her. "Oh sweetie…" She rubbed Lily's back. "I don't think that's all he wants. I understand if you need to take a while or if you don't want to date him at all… but I think he truly wants _you_ not just your body."

"He names bloody Quidditch plays after you," Dorcas said, snorting. "'Alright guys, we're gonna try the L. E. P. this time, and you better get it right! Lily's going to be at this game!'" Dorcas said in an awful imitation of James. Lily had to smile a bit at that one.

"L. E. P.?" Lily asked, amused.

"Potter claims it means the 'Lily Evans Plan," but I'm pretty sure it actually means 'Lily Evans Potter."

Lily tossed Marlene's rabbit toward Dorcas but missed pretty spectacularly. Dorcas smirked while Marlene jumped to retrieve her rabbit.

"Hey, don't bring Muff-Muff into this! He's innocent!"

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Lily, Muff-Muff is innocent. Anyways, I'm starved. Let's get out of here."

Lily followed her friends down the stairs. Sirius was leaning against the rail at the bottom of the stairs waiting.

"What took you so long? Have to reapply your makeup or something?"

"You know, now that we're back at Hogwarts, you really don't need him anymore. I know he was your back-up friend over the summer, but you have us again. You can fire him," Dorcas said in a stage whisper.

Lily laughed. "No, remember, he's useful for carrying trunks and such."

"That's true."

Sirius grinned. "And I can do things for her you never can," he winked.

"Oh yes, we've heard," Marlene purred.

Lily shoved her a little bit but Sirius gasped in false embarrassment. "Lily, don't tell me you kiss and tell!"

"Guys. Me. Hungry. Breakfast is downstairs. Let's go," Dorcas told them, grabbing one of her friends in each hand. She left Sirius to follow them.

The four of them managed to find enough empty seats, partially helped by Sirius' terse order of, "Move. Now," to a first year sitting next to an empty seat across from two other empty seats. The first year scrambled off. Lily attempted a disapproving look but only managed a mildly amused one.

Dorcas took a seat first and immediately helped herself to a stack of blueberry pancakes. She smothered them in blueberry syrup. Sirius dove under the table and clambered to the other side, popping up in the seat next to a third year girl who squealed when he appeared. He patted the seat next to him with a mouth full of bacon.

"Hellacious Head Hottie, join me."

Lily rolled her eyes but crawled under the table to sit beside him. His side of the table had chocolate chip pancakes. The fifth year boy she ended up beside gave her a look like she was crazy. She smiled.

"Apple?" she offered. He shook his head and turned back to his own friends. Lily shoved the apple into her school bag as a snack for later before forking a few chocolate chip pancakes onto her plate. She tore them apart with her fingers to eat them.

James had just joined Remus and Peter further down the table. His hair was still slightly damp but was dry enough to begin sticking up in several directions. He snagged a chocolate chip pancake from Peter's plate and shoved it into his mouth whole.

"Hey!"

"Ever heard of a fork, James?" Remus asked, making a face.

James just opened his mouth full of pancake at Remus before chewing it up and swallowing. He poured himself a glass of milk and drank half of it. "Has McGonagall come around with the schedules yet?"

"Not yet."

"And the post still isn't here?"

"Nope."

James sighed and helped himself to a banana.

"Still haven't spoken to Sirius, I see."

Peter looked back and forth between the two of them, nervous.

"Sure I did," James told him, relaxed. "I told him I'd murder him if I saw him and Lily snogging."

Remus, normally the voice of reason of the Marauders, threw an orange at James' head. He hit him square in the forehead. "You're an idiot."

"True," James admitted, rubbing his forehead.

Remus caught him looking down toward Lily and her group. "Can you talk to her without being an ass?"

James ruffled his hair. "Probably."

"Alright, then let her know when the next prefect meeting is."

"Er… when is it?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Thursday, remember? You said it on the train."

"Oh, right." James finished his banana and stood, tossing the peel onto his plate. Peter wished him luck. As soon as James was gone, he turned to Remus.

"What's going on?"

James tapped Lily on the shoulder and nudged his glasses up.

"What do you want, Potter?"

He noticed that Marlene and Dorcas were giggling over something that looked suspiciously like a Head badge. He looked at his robes self-consciously. Nope, his was still there. "I just wanted to let you know when the next prefect meeting is."

He pointedly ignored Sirius. Lily stared at him. "Err. I uh, just wanted to let you know about the next prefect meeting."

There was half a minute of silence before Lily made a frustrated noise. "And?"

"Oh, right! Thursday. I figure people should kind of know their schedules by then." James looked toward Dorcas. "Try-outs are going to be Wednesday afternoon, by the way. I need the team from last year to go to them if they still want to be on the team. The notice will be up in the common room with the exact time tomorrow."

"That mean me too?" Sirius asked obstinately.

They boys locked eyes. "Yeah," James said lowly, "If you want to be on the team again."

Sirius nodded. "I'll be there."

"Alright. Pass the word around to the rest of the team, would you?" James asked, looking at Dorcas again.

She stopped briefly while eating a stack of pancakes saturated in maple syrup to nod. She muttered a suggestion to Marlene, who was still holding Lily's badge just out of the Head Girl's sight.

Lily (_Silly, unobservant girl,_ James thought), was still looking at him. James shifted uncomfortably, looking back at her.

"Anything else, Potter?" Lily finally asked.

James couldn't stop himself. He swore he tried, but he couldn't. "I think your hair's ruddy brilliant!"

More than just Sirius and Lily were staring at him now. He flushed and glared around at the other Gryffindors. They mostly looked away, giggling at him under their breath.

Lily was also a little pink, but seemed confused. "Th-thanks?"

"Um, right. I'll just go then." He turned and walked a few steps before turning back. "Just though you should know, McKinnon and Brooks are doing something to your badge." He squinted at it and leaned toward them to see better. "Er… I think it says… 'Hellacious Head Hottie?'"

Lily grabbed at her robes where the badge should have been as James walked away. He heard her squeal, "Give it back! Traitors!" as he walked away.

Remus held out the plate of chocolate chip pancakes when he sat down again. "That seemed to have gone well."

James glowered as he took a bite of pancake. "I told her that her hair is 'ruddy brilliant,'" he muttered. Remus had the courtesy to try to disguise his chuckle as a cough.

"Better than telling Sirius you'll murder him," Peter said in an attempt to be helpful.

"Peter has an excellent point there."

James sullenly ate another pancake and ignored his friends.

~~~…~~~

The seventh year Gryffindors had N. E. W. T. level Transfigurations that day. After studying for days on end, Lily had managed an 'Exceeds Expectations' in the class and made it into the seventh year Transfigurations.

The Marauders, of course, had done very well with little studying. Remus had quizzed them occasionally, asking them conceptual questions until his fellow Marauders had used their Transfiguration skills on the werewolf's books and quills to prove that they could handle the exams. Peter had developed a particular knack for kitchen transfigurations. Remus became very fond of a tea set that had once been a rather homely bunch of wren-feather quills. In contrast, he rather despised the canaries James had set loose after Remus' nagging on his birthday.

Lily was determined to do better this year. Marlene and Dorcas were both going to be in the class with her, but she had her eyes set on someone else.

She tucked her arm into Sirius'. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You, my friend, are going to sit with me this year."

"Why would I do something like that?"

"Because you want me to get an 'O' on my N. E. W. T. s this year."

"You didn't get an 'O' last year?"

Lily smiled deceptively. "That's why you're going to be sitting with me this year." She began to drag him to the front of the class.

"Not there, I'm not," said Sirius, stopping in the middle of the aisle. The smaller girl stopped as well, unable to move him.

"Oh come on, it'll be good for you."

Sirius snorted. "I got an 'O' and I sat in the back. I'm not sitting in the front where Minnie will notice when I'm sleeping."

Lily scowled. "Fine. Then where do you want to sit?"

Sirius turned and made his way to the back of the class again. He went to the corner where he usually sat.

"This is way too far back! I won't be able to see to take notes!"

"Fine. You sit in the front and I'll sit back here."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. Compromise. We'll sit in the middle."

"Where some wanker can kick the back of my chair? No thanks."

"Please Sirius? I have to get an 'O.'"

"Alright, alright. But I'm hexing anyone that kicks the back of my chair."

"Fair enough. If you'd like, I could do a Shield Charm on your seat?"

The handsome young man smirked. "I'd rather practice my hexes."

"Mr. Black, I do hope you are not talking about hexing people while in my class."

Sirius gave his most charming smile to Professor McGonagall. Neither had realized she was there. "Of course not, Minnie. I meant in Defense, of course."

McGonagall knew better. "Please take your seats, Mr. Black, Miss Evans. And Miss Fortescue? Do take care to keep your feet away from Mr. Black's chair."

Sirius and Lily sat and class began. Lily furiously scribbled notes, nudging Sirius every once in a while to wake him from his naps. In the back of class, James alternated between watching McGonagall pace and doodling on his parchment. He determinedly kept his eyes off of Lily and Sirius.

Remus and Peter were each half paying attention to their professor. Both had talent in Transfigurations – Peter less than the rest of the Marauders, but it was only in comparison to them that he lacked. He _had_ managed to become an Animagus.

Just when James thought he might actually have to start paying attention out of boredom, class ended.

He was already getting fed up with seeing Sirius and Lily walking around together all of the time. Luckily for him, Remus grabbed his arm and stopped him from saying anything.

"James, keep it together."

His werewolf friend always knew better than the rest of them. James just had to keep reminding himself of that. If Remus said it was a bad idea, it usually was a bad idea. Like having a one-handed race to the top of the tallest tree in the Forbidden Forest. Remus had said that was a bad idea. James and Sirius had both spent some time in the Hospital Wing for that one.

James took a deep breath. "Right."

~~~…~~~

Remus was beginning to feel like a bloody babysitter. James had to be stopped nearly every hour and reminded of the fact that he and Lily would never make up if he continued being an ass. Sirius needed to be reminded – _discreetly_ – of the fact that James was practically stalking him (Remus pointedly ignored the fact that they had all of the same classes). Peter was pestering him for help in class nearly constantly. Lily may have been the only one of his friends he didn't feel like strangling. Even Mary – calm, sedate, _bloodyMaryMacDonald_, was beginning to annoy him.

If that was anything to go by, he might have to murder the lot of them in their sleep and elope with Lily.

Now that was a thought. Maybe James and Sirius would unite in their hatred of him (in the afterlife, of course. They would most definitely be included in the massacre) and make up. What was the saying? The enemy of your enemy is your friend? He and Lily could be happy together – in a purely platonic way. They both like books and chess. And chocolate. The chocolate bit was important.

"Remus, you all right?"

He was torn from his thoughts by Lily's soft voice. He had escaped to the library in their free period before lunch. He figured if he stayed there until their next class, he could avoid the rest of the Marauders. "Yes, sorry, I'm fine."

Lily took a seat next to him. "They're driving you mad too, aren't they?" she asked wryly.

"Beyond so, I'm afraid," he admitted.

"I kind of wish the end of last year never happened. The four of you would still be okay and James would be asking me out every week and I'd be ignoring him. You'd still have all of your best mates with you at the next full moon. I'd be ordering prefects away from the front doors on those nights," Lily smiled weakly.

"I didn't realize you knew."

"Of course I knew. Can't miss it, when you know what you're looking for. I haven't told anyone though, don't worry."

Remus laid his chin on his forearms. "Can't say I'm surprised. I'm more shocked that no one else has realized it."

"They see what they want to see." Lily checked the time. "I ought to be getting to lunch. If you need anything, let me know."

_Sometimes,_ Remus thought, _I can see why James loves that girl._ He shook his head in wonder. He thought briefly about following Lily to lunch, then remembered that the other Marauders would be there. Maybe he'd just stay there until it was time for his next class. It was only the first day and he was already fed up.

~~~…~~~

Peter Pettigrew was never very good at making friends. In grade school, he'd been so awkward most people avoided him. It didn't help that he had gone to a muggle grade school. The other kids had thought him weird when he used words like "muggle" or talked about Gringotts and Diagon Alley.

Now though, he had friends. James and Sirius were the outgoing ones; they'd been the ones to draw him into their group. Remus was the sensible one of them. He made their schemes logical and made sure they would work. They were smooth, they were smarter than him. He felt that by knowing them, he had improved. He felt incredibly attached to each of them.

When his father had died, it was Sirius and James that had picked him up and taken him drinking. They'd helped him forget for a little while that his mother was heartbroken and that he would never see his father again. After that, it was Remus that had helped him deal with the loss.

They were his best friends. They helped him develop and get social skills so he could make more friends. They'd been together for six years.

But now Sirius had betrayed James. Peter didn't know what to think of that. At first, he had just stuck with James and Remus. But now Remus was talking to both Sirius and James. But James was still mad at Sirius.

It was confusing to have to choose who to side with. But Sirius had done something very bad; he'd almost gotten the lot of them in trouble. And then he'd touched Lily Evans – they all knew she was off limits.

Peter didn't know what to think so he didn't want to be around Sirius. He'd stick with James and just pretend Remus wasn't talking to the both of them.

It was only the first day of class and he was already confused.

~~~…~~~

Marlene tossed her school bag onto her bed and kicked off her shoes. Dorcas was already in the room, laying in her bed with a Quidditch magazine. Marlene watched her for a minute. Dorcas didn't turn the page.

"Hey, Dork, you alright? You've been staring at that page forever."

Dorcas blushed a little and turned the magazine around. Flying across the page was a handsome young man, probably around nineteen years old. He had close-cropped black hair and mocha skin. In the picture, he dove, tossing a red ball out of the picture and catching it when it flew back to him. Marlene didn't see anything special about him.

"Okay? Who is he?"

"Gershon Meadowes." Dorcas turned the magazine back toward her and stared at it again. "He's the Chaser for Ireland."

"I thought there were three Chasers on a Quidditch team."

"Look how _fit_ he is."

Alice walked in and looked between the two of them. "Is she alright?"

"I think they're putting love potions in the pages of her magazine now," Marlene told her.

"Oh my God, he's playing near here in a few months!"

"Have you ever heard her sound like this?" Alice asked, concerned.

"No, I haven't."

"I need to go find the Marauders," Dorcas said, standing abruptly.

Marlene stopped her. "Dorcas, sit down. Think about this for a minute. What are you trying to do?"

"Marlene, I am going to that game and they are going to help me figure out a way to get to it." Marlene had pushed her back onto the bed.

"How about you get a ticket first, then see about getting there."

Dorcas nodded. "Right. Sorry. I just… I've got this feeling that I need to be there."

As Dorcas started to scribble away on a piece of parchment, a concerned glance passed between Alice and Marlene. This was not normal behavior.

It was only the first day of school and Dorcas was already infatuated.

~~~…~~~

AN: Alright, the next chapter is probably going to be late. First off, it's not completed yet and I'm trying to stay a couple of chapters ahead. Second off, I move back to the dorms next week and start classes the week after. And I'm terrible at updating stories anyways (See Kokoro no Dorobo and Fighting the Good Fight). So if you don't see from me for a while, fear not. I will return.

On another note, I'm not sure I'm happy with the Remus/Lily interaction here. I hope everyone understood that he thinks of her in a purely platonic manner and that he was joking about the eloping with her bit.


	5. Part V

This chapter was almost not brought to you on time (It is still technically on time, damn it, even though it's 11:50!). However, inspiration struck and a few more pages were written. This may be the last chapter that is on time though, as I'm doing O-Chem this semester and that is going to be a mite more important than anything else. Except perhaps Calculus.

I'm truly enjoying writing this story and the schedule is definitely helping me keep on track.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read on.

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part V**

_Four be the things I am wiser to know:  
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe._

Dorothy Parker

Sirius had tried to sleep in his dorm after the first night but the tension was heavy. He ended up back in the Head dorms, much to James' intense and vocal displeasure. In compromise, Sirius slept on the couch until the night before the Quidditch tryouts. Lily forced him to sleep in the extra bed in her room, telling him he needed to be at his best for the try-outs.

Sirius slept well. James did not.

Many of the Gryffindor students were twitchy through class, excited for the tryouts that afternoon. McGonagall was relatively lenient, as it was her team that had some flying to do that afternoon but eventually she also had enough. Detentions were handed out (to be served after the tryouts were over).

The pitch wasn't as crowded as it had been in past years. Since James had arrived at Hogwarts, he had noticed fewer and fewer people were trying to get on the Quidditch team. Fewer people attended Hogwarts over the years as well. He attributed it to the war that was picking up outside of the school. Fewer parents wanted to let their kids go.

James looked around at the hopefuls for this year. Dorcas was standing with Sirius. Her jet black hair was only ear length and slicked away from her face. Her blue-green eyes were fierce. She had been a Beater on the team since her second year. The captain back then, Geoffrey Murphy, had said she was a "tidal wave," a force that couldn't be reckoned with. He'd been so impressed, he'd chosen her over a returning student. That had ended up in a brawl on the grounds later, but as Murphy had said, Dorcas was a force. She'd come out of that alright and had been a Beater ever since. She was smaller than most Beaters but she was tenacious.

Sirius had joined the same year as James, their third year. He'd been practicing with James for the past couple of years and was nearly as good a Keeper as James was a Chaser. When they played one-on-one they were pretty evenly matched. However, Sirius was nervous because he had not practiced all summer and James wasn't happy with him. James made the final decisions on who was going to be on the team. Sirius, for once, was not as confident as Dorcas.

Gordon Murphy was Geoffrey Murphy's younger brother and the family resemblance was strong. Gordon and his brother shared the same dirty blond hair and chocolate eyes and both were small and thin, the perfect Seeker build. Gordon had played Seeker for the past two years and was now a fourth year. He was worried because he'd grown a bit over the summer and wasn't sure how he would compare to younger, smaller players.

Another former Chaser, Charlese Gray, or "Charly," was also present. The girl was only about five feet, four inches tall. Her hair was cropped short and was dark brown. Her eyes, however, were blue. She was a sixth year and was confident in her ability to make the team again. She had been on a broom since she could sit upright. Her father was a Chaser for the Banchory Bangers, her mother was a commentator. It was safe to say Charly was entrenched in Quidditch culture.

Honestly, James was sure that his four returning members would put up a good enough show to be on the team again. However, he wanted to give the other ten or so people that had shown up a fair chance.

"Let's get started. I'm James Potter and I'm your captain this year. I play Chaser and my position is not up for grabs. Alright, everyone got their own brooms? Excellent. Chasers up in the air first. Five laps. Weave through the hoops at either end of the pitch." James blew his whistle and four people, including Charly, rose into the air.

Not all of them were as confident as Charly and it showed in the way they flew. While she zipped through the goals, two of them slowed down. The last person was right on Charly's twigs, speeding through the laps and the goals like it was nothing.

As the Chasers landed in front of James, he took a close look at them. The one that had been able to keep up with Charly was a red-headed young man of medium build. His hair was almost as bright as Lily's but his eyes were brown. James thought he recognized him as a fourth year. His flying was impressive for a kid that young.

The next was a tall, gangly boy. He hadn't quite grown into himself yet and he reminded James of a Great Dane puppy – all leg and feet with no grace. He had huge blue eyes and brown hair that hung over is ears. It didn't help with his puppy image at all. If James were to guess, he'd say the kid was a second year.

The last was a small girl, shorter and thinner than Charly, who had curves that she desperately tried to hide under her Quidditch uniform. Her hair was mousy brown and back in two braided pigtails. Her eyes were black and seemed to catch everything.

If James were to pick on first impressions alone, it would have to be the boy. But James decided to go on with the trial.

"Back up in the air, you lot. I didn't say you were done!" James turned toward the other hopefuls. "Sirius, up in the air. Eastern goals."

Sirius nodded and did as he was told. The possible Chasers hovered uncertainly until James opened the trunk full of balls and tossed the Quaffle up into the air. The mousy girl caught it.

"Girls against boys. You play to fifty points."

The mini-game began with James' whistle blow. Mousy-girl flew straight for the goal, dodging the red head with a sharp dip before passing the Quaffle to her teammate. Charly faked it for the left hoop and threw for the middle, but Sirius caught it and tossed it back into the pitch.

The puppy caught it and for a moment, looked confused. Then he flew straight for Sirius. Sirius stayed put. The puppy tried and failed to make a goal.

Back into the pitch went the Quaffle. Sirius managed to throw it into the middle of the group of them. All four players flew for it as it plummeted for the ground. The puppy-boy pulled back early, leaving it to his more experienced teammate. Charly pulled back after, when she realized she couldn't catch the ball. That left the redhead and the mousy girl.

They both dove like Seekers after the Snitch. As the redhead realized how close they were getting to the ground and pulled back, the mousy little girl leaned closer to her broom, pressing to be more aerodynamic.

At the last second, she palmed the Quaffle, flipped and threw it to Charly. Charly caught it and threw for the right goal, making it before Sirius could stop the ball.

James blew his whistle, signaling a time out. The players gathered around him with questioning looks. He ignored all of them but the mousy girl. "You sure you don't want to try for Seeker?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"It's James. And are you really sure? I think you could be a great one."

"No, I want to be a Chaser," she answered, her tone belligerent and her accent thick Scottish. "Me aunt was a Chaser and was bloody brilliant. I want to be better."

"Alright then. All of you, back to the game."

It was soon obvious that while the redhead was a more confident flier, it did not mean he was the best. Charly and the mousy girl dominated the remainder of the mini-match, winning 50-30, with all three of the boys' goals scored by the redhead.

"What's your name?" James asked of the mousy girl as she landed.

"Isobel McGonagall."

James nodded. "Our esteemed Head of House's niece? Cousin? Secret love child?"

"Niece. Me da is her younger brother."

"Congratulations, Isobel. Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. You too, Gray." James shook hands with the two boys as well. "You two, try out again next year. Practice your flying a bit and get one of your friends to play Keeper for you so you can practice making goals."

The next part of the auditions was the Keeper portion. James had the three people do laps, the same as the Chasers. Sirius stood out. James then had the three take turns blocking the hoops from Charly. Sirius was the obvious choice.

"Alright, Black. You're on the team again."

Murphy had a harder time with his, but as James suspected, he was still the best choice and would still be an excellent Seeker. His worries that he had grown too much were unfounded but his competition, several compact Quidditch players ranging from twelve to sixteen, was intense. The five other people didn't have Murphy's natural talent though. Murphy was once again on the team.

That left only the Beaters. From the wary look the group was sending Dorcas, they all knew of her reputation. The four people aiming to be her partner – for they all _knew_ she was going to be on the team – were bigger than her.

Dorcas outflew and out-Beat them all. But her partner for the year was going to be a tall, muscled fifth year named Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was quiet but seemed as though he could keep up with Dorcas.

James looked around at his seventh-year team. "Alright. I know it's almost time for dinner so I'll make this short. It's mine and Dorcas' and Sirius' last year here. We've won the Cup for the last six years and even though that first year was by default ("The Slytherins cheated so much, half the team fouled out," Dorcas muttered to Kingsley) I'd like to make it a seven year streak, got that? Practice is every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. You miss a practice and you'll be doing muggle-style push-ups.

"That's it for now. Just enough time to wash up before dinner. Get to it!"

James carried the trunk back to the broom shed, locking it up behind him. When he turned back toward the school, he saw that Sirius had waited.

They walked together. "I didn't do it because I forgive you. I haven't. I did it because you were the best choice."

"I know. But you didn't _not_ pick me. I was more worried about that."

"You were the best."

There was another silence.

"Going to be a tough season," Sirius offered.

"Yeah."

"So—"

"Look, I don't want to talk to you. You're lucky I haven't beaten the shit out of you. So just shove it."

"Mate, I'm going to be around whether you like it or not. You put me on the team and since Wormtail is putting nasty things in my bed, I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the Head dorms."

James stopped and shoved him. "Stay the fuck out of Lily's room, you damn pervert."

Sirius shoved him back. "You're one to talk, all the girls you were with, even when you were asking Lily out. How many girls have you fucked?"

"None of your damn business!"

"If you want Lily, you can't be such a dick."

"Why do you care? You already got her."

It was Sirius who threw the first punch. "What the fuck does that mean?"

It became a bit of a brawl and the two ended up on the ground, trying to land a fist on whatever part of the other they could reach.

"It means you already fucked her. You won. Sirius Black got the girl."

Sirius shoved James off of him and punched him in the face. "Sex with Lily didn't mean shit. You don't get the girl until she loves you."

"I didn't know you were such a fucking romantic, Black."

"And I didn't know you were such a fucking dick, Potter."

They were suddenly pulled apart.

"Wha's this? Sirius Black an' James Potter fightin'?" Hagrid held each of them up by the back of their robes. "Wha's goin' on?"

"Nothing, Hagrid," James told him, still glowering at Sirius.

"Righ'." Hagrid looked doubtful. "I'll put ya both down. No fightin'."

The two boys dusted themselves off. Each was graced with a black eye and Sirius had a split lip. James' nose was bleeding from that last hit to the face. Both had scraped knuckles and James suspected he'd twisted his ankle in the fight. Bruises were already forming under their Quidditch robes.

"Get ter dinner. No more fightin'."

Hagrid watched the two walk toward the school and shook his head. The two had been thick as thieves for six years. He knew some of the things they had gotten up to – they'd even coerced him to help occasionally. It was concerning to see the two being so aggressive toward one another.

~~~…~~~

Sirius couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Lily's a good person and you're making her feel like shit. If you're going to be an asshole, just stay away from her, alright, mate?"

"Shut up, Black."

They walked in angry silence to dinner and ignored the looks they got from their fellow students as they sat down at opposite ends of the Gryffindor table.

"What happened?" Lily asked, handing Sirius a napkin to dab his split lip with.

He shrugged and spooned some peas onto his plate. "Rough game, Quidditch."

~~~…~~~

Lily stroked the barn owl she planned to use to send her letter. She had cleaned off a sill on one of the windows and was sitting on it.

_Dear Mum,_

_Sirius and Potter are still not getting on. In fact, most of Sirius' friends seem to be upset with him. I don't know everything that happened at the end of last year, but it must have been bad. I know part of it at least, but not all._

_Severus is still with that crowd, the ones I don't really like. It makes me nervous. Sometimes, I think he still watches me. I don't quite know what to think about that. We were so close and he changed. I don't think it was me who changed, do you?_

_Everyone else seems to be doing well. Dorcas is on the Quidditch team again, just like we expected. I wish you could see her, Mum. She's fantastic. Sirius is on the team too. Marlene's doing well too. She had a great time in Japan. I haven't spoken that much to Alice yet, but she still seems very much in love with Frank._

_Classes are already ruthless and Head Duties start up soon. We had the meeting last week. We all drew names out of a hat to decide who would be paired up for patrols. It looks like, out of sheer dumb bad luck, that Potter and I will be patrolling together every other Wednesday evening. They're already piling work on us so I'm not sure how I'll manage after I have to start patrolling as well, especially if I have to put up with his foolishness._

_Marlene and Dorcas think that Potter and I should make up eventually. They think he'll start asking me out again soon. But if he forgives me and not Sirius, how does that work? Sirius is my friend now and I wouldn't want to hurt him. And I don't like how Potter seems to hold grudges._

_I know you don't even know everything that happened. Should I even want to be with James now, though? I still feel something for him, isn't that stupid when he's so angry? And when we're not getting along?_

_I'm sorry for being so down. How are you doing now, Mum? Have you heard from Dad or Petunia? Are she and Vernon Dursley getting married in December, or has the wedding been pushed back again?_

_I love you, Mum._

_Lily_

After she tied the letter to the owl's leg and sent him on his way, Lily sat on the sill for a while longer. Most of the owls had gone out to hunt. From her vantage point, Lily could see the entire grounds. Something white caught her eye at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Lily squinted.

A unicorn stepped cautiously from the forest and looked about. After it had ensured there was no danger, it looked behind itself. A tiny golden foal stepped out from the forest.

Lily clasped her hands to her lips in awe. She'd never seen one before.

It was late, already past curfew. But after seeing the way James and Sirius were acting toward one another and knowing that both were in the Head Dorms, Lily had no desire to return to them.

It was her seventh year, she couldn't go to her room. Maybe it was the perfect time to break a rule or two.

Lily wrapped her cloak around herself and crept her way through the castle. It wasn't difficult, as she knew what professors were likely to patrol and at what times. She avoided the second floor as much as she could, since Professor McGonagall liked to patrol there with Professor Sprout.

Soon, Lily had slipped out the front doors onto the grounds. She headed for the forest.

~~~…~~~

Remus was studying in James' room while the other boy alternately fiddled with his Snitch and glanced at the Marauder's Map.

"She's been up there for nearly two hours. Who do you think she's waiting on?" James asked, frustrated.

"James, have you considered that she's not waiting on anyone? She might be sending a letter, you know."

"For two bloody hours?"

"Well maybe she just wanted some time alone."

"But she's been up there for two hours. Who sits in owl shit for two hours, just for some time alone?"

Remus got up and took the map from his friend. "Play with your Snitch, James. I'll take care of the map."

James sighed and plopped onto the floor. "What are you working on?" he asked, disgruntled. "Defense?"

"Yes. As you should be, since we have class tomorrow."

James managed to stay silent for a few minutes and pretend to read one of his texts. Finally he grumbled and began working in earnest. "You think this Defense professor will let us do more practical work? Practicing spells and what not?"

"How would I know?" asked Remus, rolling his eyes. "It's not like… What in the world?"

"What?"

"Lily's on the grounds."

James sat straight up. "What? What do you mean?"

"What does it sound like? Lily's on the grounds for some reason. She's going toward the Forbidden Forest." Remus stood. "We've got to get her."

"I will. Stay here."

"You sure? She isn't really happy with you at the moment."

"I'll be _instagnito_," James told him.

"Alright then. Be careful."

James snagged the map from Remus and left. It was easy to make his way to the castle doors and avoid the professors when he had the map.

He kept his eyes on Lily's dot, even when he'd gotten out to the grounds. He went into the woods a hundred yards from where Lily was searching for something and whispered, "Mischief Managed," to the map before stuffing it into his robes. Then he changed into a stag and followed the sound of Lily's voice.

~~~…~~~

The mother unicorn let Lily approach as her golden foal hid behind her. Lily stopped a few feet away and held out her hand to give the unicorn a chance to either leave or come closer.

The unicorn hesitated for a moment before taking the extra step and placing her head against Lily's hand. The girl stroked the mother unicorn's cheek. The animal's eyes were bright and watched her carefully, though her ears occasionally flicked toward her foal when he shuffled in the leaves that rested on the forest floor.

"I've never seen a unicorn before," Lily confided. "When I was a little girl, before I knew I was a witch, I always imagined how amazing it would be to meet one. And now I'm almost grown and I finally have.

"Your baby is very handsome as well," Lily told the mare. The unicorn dipped her head gracefully as if she was thanking Lily for the compliment. "I'm sure he'll grow to be strong and beautiful like you."

Lily slipped her fingers through the unicorn's mane. It was like threads of silk and it was almost like it had been brushed. "Do unicorns love?" she asked rhetorically. "Do you fall in love with another unicorn and then have a baby? If that's the case, where is his father?"

The mare huffed and the foal came closer. Lily's heart felt like it was floating. She and the foal just looked at one another and she thought he was trying to decide what she was and if she were friend or foe. Just as he stepped closer, a twig broke with a sharp snap.

~~~…~~~

James cursed himself as the mother unicorn turned and nudged her foal to leave. The unicorns always knew that he, Sirius and Peter weren't really animals. And of course they avoided Remus.

Lily was peering around her into the woods. James could tell she was starting to be afraid. She was wondering if whatever had scared the unicorns was something she should flee from as well. He hadn't been planning on showing himself to her, but he didn't like seeing her afraid, especially when he had specifically come out to protect her.

James stepped out of the thick brush, careful not to get his wide antlers stuck on anything. Lily stopped stepping back when she saw him.

_It's only a stag_, Lily thought to herself, relieved that her heart could stop pounding. She stood very still so she wouldn't scare the animal.

He seemed large for a stag and his antlers matched. More unusually, his coat was cream, almost white, but his eyes weren't pink like an albino stag's would be. They were hazel and intelligent.

He walked toward her. James couldn't help himself. Now that she'd seen him, he wanted her to know this side of him as well. She was standing perfectly still, so James lowered his head and nudged her hand, careful to keep his antlers clear of her. When he lifted his head again, her hand followed.

His eyes drifted shut in pleasure as she gently pet his long face, moving down to his neck after a moment. Her hands and fingers were soft as they rubbed at his fur and skin. She massaged gently behind one of his ears.

"You're not afraid of me at all. I guess that means you've seen a lot of students out here before." Lily smiled wryly. "No doubt the Marauders have pestered you a few times."

James put his nose in her hair and enjoyed the way Lily laughed at that. He rested his head on her shoulder as she continued stroking his neck. Her heart had slowed to its normal pace but his had sped up.

It was so peaceful but for James it was also so personal. This was the first time in a long time he was with Lily and neither of them was upset. If he were human at that moment, he may have tried to kiss her. He was still so in love with her.

But it was late. James forced himself to take a single step away. Lily managed to keep her hand on his neck. James nuzzled it and Lily took a step toward him. This repeated a few times before Lily realized he wanted her to follow him.

"I'll go with you," she told him, staring into his hazel eyes.

James the stag turned when she said that and let her place a hand on his shoulder as he led her out of the Forbidden Forest. He stopped at the edge and together they looked at the castle against the background of the night sky.

Lily faced the stag. "Thank you," she told him. "Maybe I'll see you again some time." She gave his face another stroke and kissed him lightly between the eyes before heading to the castle.

James watched her go. Every time she turned back to look, he was still standing there. It was only when she took a final look at the castle door that he turned and went back into the woods to return to his human form.

He kept the map out again as he rushed back to his room. Lily made it there only moments after him, but he was already in his room when she arrived. He listened as she went to her bedroom and shut the door. Neither noticed that Sirius was absent.

Remus had gone back to his dormitory at some point, so James was free to change out of his day clothes and lie in bed. He fell asleep with Lily's touch echoing on his skin and imagining that he had changed back while with her and stroked her cheeks as gently as she had touched his.

~~~…~~~

Lily also went straight to bed, smiling as she remembered her encounters that night. It wasn't until she was on the verge of sleep that she remembered what Sirius had said about James' Animagus. By the time she remembered, it was too late to wake and think on it more. So she fell asleep with the stag's eyes on her mind.

~~~…~~~

The two Heads awoke in pensive moods. When they encountered one another in their common room, James was surprised to find that neither of them picked a fight. The peace of last night still rested over him.

"Would you like to go down to breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure," Lily said softly. She couldn't help a darting glance at his eyes.

James held the portrait open for her as they left their room.

"Did Sirius really get hurt at the Quidditch try-outs?" Lily asked after a while.

"No. We got in a fight."

"I thought so."

"Sorry," James said.

Lily smiled. "No you're not."

He smirked a little. "I wasn't. But I am now."

"How are you? I saw you limping a little afterwards."

James shrugged. "I'm alright."

"Okay."

The rest of the walk was quiet and they parted at the Great Hall. Lily joined Sirius, Dorcas and Alice and James joined Remus and Peter.

"Can I talk to you later?" Lily asked Sirius.

He looked at her, puzzled. "Sure." He saw that she was looking at James. "Yeah, sure."

At the other end of the table, James was eating his first chocolate chip pancake.

"How'd last night go?" Remus asked.

"Fantastic," James told him between bites.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Bloody fantastic."

"Alright then," Remus said.

~~~…~~~

Peter shuffled nervously as he waited in one of the deserted dungeons. He had a Transfigurations essay clutched in trembling hands.

Finally, two young men entered the room, their silver and green ties undone and hands shoved in trouser pockets.

"H-here," Peter said. "I-I wrote your essays."

One of the boys took the parchment and skimmed it with black eyes. "Good enough. That's one more week of safety Pettigrew."

The other boy snorted his disdain. "If we don't need you. Silly little school assignments won't get you protection for long, Pettigrew."

"What… what do you mean?" Peter stuttered, eyes darting from the Slytherins to the exit they loomed in front of.

"I mean bigger things are happening, fool, and if you want to stay safe, you're going to have to start doing more than finishing our homework for us. Especially since you're friends with Potter and his lot."

"Think about it, Pettigrew. Out in the real world, the Dark Lord won't care if you can get decent marks and Transfigurations. He only cares about what you can do to help your race. And what have Mudbloods done for you? So far, that filthy little redhead has only got your mates fighting. You haven't got much time. Once you're out of Hogwarts, you're either with or against us. And if you're against us, your whole family is against us. That means he'll kill your mum, your dad, and the damn family cat."

Peter was shaking. The Slytherins noticed and laughed. "Afraid, Pettigrew? Good. Here's our next assignment. Get it done and meet us back here next week."

The boys left, still chuckling and Peter collapsed in the room, trembling in fear.

~~~…~~~

It's a much shorter chapter than normal. There's a lot more I'd like to put in here, but I think this is a good stopping point.

Anyways, I might be combining the other Harry Potter story I was writing with this one. The reason being that there are some plot points in there that I think would fit well here. And I love the character, but she won't be published unless she's in this story.

I'm going to start picking up the pace on this, I think, or trying to. I'm also going to try to focus a bit more on Lily, since I think she's kind of been ignored except when there's drama.

Anyways, review away. I'd appreciate some feedback on this chapter as the last half was rather rushed. 6 pages turned to 12 in 2 days and to keep with my schedule, I'm putting it up tonight.


	6. Part VI

I'm sorry. I know this is beyond late but it's been a rough couple of months. The next one probably won't be any closer to on time. If I don't focus on my classes, I'm going to have to drop out, so the next chapter might not be up until January. I'm really sorry about that.

Anyways, enjoy. Or not. I'd love some reviews. They keep me going.

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part VI**

_Four be the things I'd been better without:  
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt._

Dorothy Parker

Lily had to wait until the end of the day to speak to Sirius, but she finally cornered him without anyone else around on the way to the Head dorms. Sirius was still sleeping in there, though they'd moved the extra bed from Lily's room to the common room and transfigured it into an extra table during the day. Lily was planning to get her books to study with Marlene and Dorcas in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius wanted to get his broom but half expected Lily to make him study with her.

He did not expect to be pulled into the girl's bathroom and have the door locked behind him.

"Oi! What are you doing, dragging me in here?"

"I told you this morning, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect the talking to happen in the girl's restroom."

"No one's in here. It's Myrtle's bathroom. And she's always out this time of day."

"Who in Merlin's name is Myrtle?"

"Not the subject right now. I need to ask you something."

Sirius sighed and leaned against a sink. "Alright. Start talking."

"I went into the Forbidden Forest last night and – "

"You went into the Forbidden Forest at night? Did you at least take someone with you?"

Lily flushed. "Well, no, but that's not the point."

"I think that it's a damn fine point. Have you ever even been in the Forbidden Forest? Do you know how dangerous it is?"

"You and the rest of the Marauders have been going in there for years!"

"Yeah, but we never went in alone, not without, you know, being a bit furry."

"And what's your point?" Lily asked, beginning to become indignant.

"Lily, you don't know what's in the Forest. Trust me, Moony and us weren't the worst things in there. You're lucky."

"Alright, okay. I shouldn't have gone in alone. It's just… I needed some time away from everyone. You get that, right? I didn't see you at all last night."

"You didn't just drag me in here to tell me you broke rules for the first time in your life, did you?"

"No. So I went down there because I saw a unicorn and I've never seen one up close before. But when I was down there, this stag came out. It was almost like it was tame. And it was absolutely beautiful. I just… What does James look like when he's a stag?"

Sirius tilted his head much like a dog would and studied her. "You think that James went out there last night?"

Lily shrugged and lost some of that hope she hadn't realized she'd been holding on to. "Maybe. I don't know, it just seemed peculiar. Never mind then."

"No, no, wait," Sirius told her as she headed for the door. "I think that's possible. What did the stag you saw look like?"

"It was white or cream-coloured and it seemed bigger than a normal stag would be. And its eyes weren't normal brown. They were hazel. And like I said, it wasn't afraid of me or anything. It came right up to me and let me pet it."

Lily shifted anxiously as Sirius stayed silent, thinking. After a few moments, she lost her patience. "Well?"

"Yeah, that might have been him. We haven't seen any other white deer out there. What's so important about it?"

Lily fidgeted. "He seemed different than he's been acting lately. He actually seemed like the Potter I was starting to like last year. And this morning, he was still kind of acting that way. I'm just not sure what to think."

Sirius took his hair out of its tie and ran a hand through it. "Never changes. Always about bloody Lily Evans," he muttered just low enough for Lily not to hear.

"What?"

"Nothing. Maybe he's going back to normal."

"Has he tried talking to you at all?" Lily asked hopefully.

"No."

"Oh. Sorry. I don't really know what to think about him being nice to me and not to you."

"I don't know. Hey, didn't you tell Marlene and Dorcas you were going to meet you? You should get going."

"Yeah. Are we okay, Sirius?"

"We're fine. Go meet them. I'm going to go out to the Quidditch field."

"Alright. See you later then."

Sirius waited until she was gone to kick one of the stall doors in frustration. This elicited a small, terrified squeak from the ghost hiding in there. Sirius bared his teeth at her like he was in his other form and she fled. He kicked the stall again before leaning his head against it.

~~~…~~~

She was a sixth year, a year below Lily and Sirius in classes, but she was brilliant in Potions.

Honestly, Slughorn mused to himself, she was one of his favorite students, up there with Lily Evans.

And that was why he wanted to give her a chance to prove herself.

Slughorn saw the leggy black girl walking to the Slytherin table. Her shoulder-length dreadlocks were tied back away from her face and her half-kneazle – what was his name? – was held in her arms. "Hera, Hera!" he called, puffing from trying to catch up with her.

Hera stopped as she heard him calling to her and waited. Slughorn panted as he caught up to her.

Finally, he caught his breath. "Hera, I'd like you to come to my seventh year NEWT class this morning instead of the sixth year class tomorrow."

Hera furrowed her brow. "But why, sir?"

"Ah, yes. Well, I thought you would like to work up to your level. Lily Evans and Severus are both in that class. I thought you would enjoy working with them. Besides, you and I both know you can brew all of the potions in the sixth level class."

Hera smiled wryly. Last year, while hiding out from her housemates, she had gone through all the sixth year potions until she thought she could do them correctly. Slughorn had found her sweating over a difficult potion more than once.

"Thank you, sir. I'll do my best."

Slughorn patted her shoulder and went off to find breakfast.

Hera looked across the Great Hall to the redhead she knew was Lily Evans as she sat next to her friend Delia Shafiq.

"Good morning Delia." Hera cut her ham into tiny pieces and put them on a saucer for Cain, her half-kneazle cat, before serving herself.

"Good morning. What did Slughorn want?"

"He wants me to go to the seventh year Potions class."

"Really? But we're already three weeks into the school year."

Hera shrugged and ate a piece of bacon. "I know. And I don't have the book. I'll have to owl Flourish and Blotts for it."

Just as she was speaking of owls, the post came. The Shafiq's family owl, Gobstop, dropped a letter sealed with silver wax on Delia's plate. Delia fed the owl a piece of ham and petted his head affectionately before sending him on his way. Cain seemed to become very predatory when Gobstop was involved, though he ignored the Zabini's owl, Chariot as she dropped a letter for Hera and stole a piece of Cain's ham.

Delia's eyes widened as she read her letter.

"So what is happening with the Shafiq family?" Hera asked, hiding the rest of her food by shoving it onto Cain's saucer.

"It's not the Shafiqs. Apparently my cousin Lucius Malfoy and his fiancée Narcissa Black have finally set a wedding date. Better than that though, Narcissa's sister, Andromeda – the one blasted off the Black family tapestry – her kid is a Metamorphmagus!"

"Has anyone from the Black family ever been a Metamorphmagus?"

"Not in twelve-hundred years."

"Weird." Cain had finished his plate of food and was staring at Delia as she ate her bacon. Delia smiled.

"Cain is so odd," she said, breaking off a little piece of bacon for him. "And what about the Zabini family? Any news about your dad's murder?""

Hera couldn't argue with Delia's comment on Cain's personality. She petted his little gray head and listened to him purr. Cain was a handsome Russian Blue-kneazle mix she'd found as a kitten near the Forbidden Forest. The only physical trait he seemed to share with his kneazle relatives was his tufted tail, like a lion's. For the past three years, he'd been her cat and hers alone. He didn't seem to care for most of the other Slytherins.

Hera opened her letter and read it over before folding it and tucking it into her robes. "None. It's been five years. I don't expect to hear anything anytime soon." Hera played with one of her dread locks until Cain nudged her hand. She kissed the little animal's head and started as someone else sat beside her.

"Hera," Regulus said by way of greeting.

"Regulus," Hera responded giving him a small smile.

~~~…~~~

Sirius rolled his head around, cracking his neck. He ended this movement with a groan. Lily was leaning away from him.

"That's disgusting." She told him. "Must you do that at the table?"

"Oi, if you hadn't woken me up so bloody early, I wouldn't still be trying to wake up."

"That makes no sense, my foolish, ponytailed friend," Marlene told him.

Sirius finally looked up from rubbing his neck. "Hey, who's that sitting with my brother?"

Lily leaned to the side and Marlene turned to see who he was talking about. "No idea," Lily told him. "Don't you know?"

"I wouldn't ask if I knew, would I? I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

"I think that's Hera Zabini." Marlene and Lily both watched speculatively. "They're not doing any of the typical couple stuff. No hand holding or kissing or what-not," Marlene told him.

Sirius didn't respond, but his suspicious gaze continued to creep back to the Slytherin table, while Lily's returned to him as she wondered about his odd behavior.

~~~…~~~

Hera wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Cain had trotted ahead and she was trying to catch up with him.

"Oof." The leggy black girl fell backwards.

James had stayed upright, but the sixth year Slytherin girl wasn't as lucky. A handsome steel grey cat was staring at James and Remus reproachfully from the girl's side. She was probably around five foot, seven inches tall when she wasn't on her butt on the floor. Her dreadlocks were neatly pulled back, but a few were escaping around her cheeks. They were just short of her shoulder blades.

She looked terrified as she stared up at the tall, lanky boy with messy black hair and glasses and the slightly shorter, slightly gaunt dirty-blond haired young man.

James held out a hand to Hera, smiling at her. "You ought to watch where you're going." Hera was frozen. "It's fine. I'm James. James Potter."

Hera finally took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She glanced between him and Remus before dropping his hand. "Hera Zabini."

Remus smiled. "Remus Lupin. Who's this?" Cain was weaving between his ankles.

"Cain."

"Half-kneazle?" James asked, crouching down to look at him.

"Yes." Hera could see her fellow Slytherins watching her. She ignored them. "He's three years old."

"Handsome little man, isn't he?" James scratched Cain behind his ears.

Remus pet Cain one more time and straightened. "I need to go get my books. It was nice meeting you, Zabini."

Hera smiled and picked Cain up. "Mutual."

They parted ways and Hera went back to the dungeons for her books.

"She was afraid," Remus told James quietly.

"I noticed. I don't get that she's very close to her housemates. And I don't think many of them would be quite as nice if she ran into them."

"Still, I wonder what she's afraid of."

The two talked about classes as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room and into the seventh year boys' dormitory. Peter was there rummaging under Remus' bed.

"Hey, Wormtail. What are you doing?" James asked.

"Oh, hi guys," Peter said. "I can't find my wand."

"It's on top of your chest," Remus told Peter, picking up his school bag.

"Oh. Thanks, Moony." Peter blushed.

"Come on, off to Potions, Moony."

"I'm going to the library," Peter told them both.

"I can't believe you only got two N.E.W.T.s," James told him.

Remus noticed Peter blushing again. "That's alright; Transfigurations and Herbology are good classes."

James was already part way out the door. "Yeah. Just don't get bitten by the Venomous Tentacula."

Remus shook his head at his friend and followed him out with Peter still thinking about the possibility.

James and Remus made it to the dungeons with a few minutes to spare and took their normal seats. Dorcas and Lily were already setting up their cauldrons beside each other. Just as James and Remus made to follow their example, Hera entered the classroom.

She looked around, quietly biting her lip with nerves. Her prefect, Snape was sitting with several other seventh year Slytherin students, including Armand Mulciber, who she had no desire to be anywhere near.

Slughorn noticed her standing at the back of the classroom and trying to find a seat. "Ah, Hera! Wonderful, wonderful. Please, take a seat next to the elder Mr. Black."

Sirius was leaning back in his chair. He clacked down onto the front legs. "What?"

"I thought Zabini was a sixth year?"

Slughorn looked around for who asked but couldn't find them. "Hera has already mastered the sixth year potions. Mr. Black, if you please."

Sirius pushed his bag aside to make room for Hera.

"Hera Zabini. Nice to meet you."

"I know who you are. You're Regulus's friend."

Hera nodded. "Yes, we're friends." Hera set up her cauldron. "You and he don't get along."

"Brilliant observation."

Hera wilted a little bit. "And you don't like me because I'm friends with Regulus."

Slughorn began to talk, not giving Sirius a chance to respond. "This week we will focus on an elixir used to heal the petrified. Professor Sprout has prepared the Mandrakes. The rest will be up to you. You'll find the potion on page 52 of _Moste Potente Potions_. The ingredients are in the cabinet."

"Umm… Sirius, do you mind if we share the book? I didn't realize I was going to be in this class…"

"Yeah, sure. Look, sorry about that. I don't have a problem with you being friends with my brother. I just don't trust his friends – his other friends." Cain startled Sirius when he jumped onto the table beside him and butted his head against Sirius's hand.

"I know," Hera muttered, watching Cain. "I don't either."

Sirius gave her a tentative grin. "Maybe you're alright then."

Hera gave a small smile in return and leaned over to flip through the book and find the potion they were working on. "I'll go get the ingredients."

She tried to avoid most of the other students and didn't meet the other Slytherin students' eyes. When she returned, she separated the ingredients so each of them had what they needed.

"So," Sirius began as she sat, "You any good at this?"

"Very."

"Excellent."

"I won't be doing your work for you, I hope you know."

Sirius smiled at her with the full force of his charm. "Of course not."

Hera pulled a green bandana from her pocket and put it on. It kept her hair from her face. "Okay. Let's start."

James and Remus were already reading the instructions for the potion carefully. Lily was working with a Marlene and already had some brown liquid simmering. Marlene was chopping up beetles.

Sirius cut the heads off the beetles and threw them into the cauldron. Hera gave him a horrified look.

"What are you doing? You have to chop them up more than that! And where is the liquid? You can't just throw the beetles in the cauldron like _that_."

He was giving her a blank look. Hera sighed in exasperation. "Look, it's like this. When you make a good soup, you chop your vegetables up nicely and sauté them. Or you melt the butter. But it's faster if you cut it up. Then you do that 'til the veggies are soft." Hera finely chopped her beetles and mandrake root and showed Sirius how to heat them up. "Then you add the liquid. You let the liquid simmer and get everything else ready."

"You realize I've never cooked anything before."

She shook her head. "You and Regulus are hopeless. How will you ever live on your own?"

Sirius shrugged. "Booze for nourishment. And pasta. I can boil water."

Hera smiled. "Just copy me for now."

Sirius watched her as Cain batted around a few of his badly chopped beetles. "So why do you like potions so much?"

"They make sense. I like making things. I like the way they smell. I like the way they come together into one thing. And I'm not very good with people. I don't have to work with them as much when I'm working on potions."

Sirius noticed the mood had gotten a little to grave and decided to try to cheer the younger girl up. He gave his best leer. "I can teach you all kinds of people skills."

Hera's eyes widened but she laughed.

"Alright, new question, since you don't seem to be taking my proposition seriously."

"Okay."

"What's with the cat? You were okay with me as soon as the cat was."

"His name's Cain. He's a half-kneazle."

"Really? And you trust his judgment?"

"He likes you and Regulus. He doesn't like Mulciber or Avery." Hera smiled shyly and looked over at James and Remus, nodding toward them. "He likes them too."

Sirius balanced onto the hind legs of his stool. "Smart cat."

"I though you and Potter weren't getting along anymore?"

Sirius shrugged. "He's a git, but he's not a baby Death Eater."

She was quiet until her potion turned forest green. Sirius stirred his experimentally. It stayed rusty brown. "Add your newt eyes and try stirring again," Hera encouraged.

When he obeyed, the potion also turned green, though a muddier version of hers. "Huh."

"I make excellent cookies too."

Slughorn walked by and paused. "Very good, Hera, very good! And Mr. Black… improvement." Slughorn checked the time. "Well, time to pack up. Put what you have in a flask and put it on my desk. Hera, Black wait after class."

Sirius cursed. "I didn't even blow anything up this time."

Hera bottled both their potions and took them up while Sirius replaced their unused ingredients in the cabinet. The Slytherin girl watched everyone else pack up and scratched Cain's ears. When the other students were all gone, she and Sirius met Slughorn near his desk.

"What did you need us for, Professor?"

"I'd like you two to continue working together. I feel Hera is a good influence on you, Sirius." Slughorn noticed Sirius opening his mouth the say something. "Enough, Mr. Black. Shouldn't you be getting off to your next class?"

Hera walked with Sirius as they left the dungeons.

"Sorry you have to work with me."

Hera was startled out of her silence. "Why?"

"Didn't you hear about all the cauldrons I blew up last year?"

"I always thought you did that on purpose."

"A few of them, but not all."

"How did you get into the N.E.W.T. level?"

"I'm an excellent test-taker." He managed to get a laugh out of her. "I'm sure you'll be able to help me learn though. You know what you're doing."

The younger Slytherin blushed and started to say something when she noticed a group of girls from her House watching them talk. "I've got to go. I'll see you later." Hera strode off without waiting for him to respond.

Sirius paused and heard a feline growl near his ankles. He followed Cain's hateful gaze toward the girls. He gave them the bird and they stomped off. Sirius crouched down and scratched Cain behind his ears. "Doesn't care for her housemates, does she? I guess you don't either, though."

Cain rubbed his head into Sirius' palm and trotted off.

"Goodbye to you too," Sirius muttered.

~~~…~~~

It was time for Lily's first patrol with James. Since their experience in the forest, the two had been rather quiet around one another.

It was hard for James to come to terms with the Lily that could both break his heart and make it pound with affection. He also had difficulty because he couldn't yet forgive Sirius. It was one thing for a girl to betray him; it was another for his best mate to do so – twice.

Lily was to meet James in their common room at nine o'clock. She shifted from side to side and fidgeted as she waited. James was, predictably in her opinion, late.

At ten past, James popped into the common room and ruffled his hair. "I'm late."

"Yes, you are."

"Should we get going?"

"I suppose."

They patrolled for a little while in silence. James kept his hand in his pockets, his shirt untucked, tie missing, first few buttons unbuttoned. Lily's arms were folded, the only part of her uniform not as it should be was her tie. She'd left it in her dorm room.

Finally, Lily spoke. "I'm sorry."

James looked at her from the corner of his eye. "For what?"

"For upsetting you at the end of last year. I shouldn't have… you know."

He couldn't decide what to say to that. "It's not really okay."

"I know. I just didn't think I ever really apologized…"

"Do you even regret it?"

Lily was staring at the ground. "I regret upsetting you."

"You don't regret sleeping with Sirius?"

She looked at him and her green eyes met his hazel ones. "Do you regret kissing Felicia Hackleburst?"

"You really showed up."

"Yeah, I really showed up."

They had made their way down to the dungeons without noticing. It was only when a crash echoed through the halls that they realized where they were. The two started and looked around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from.

"I'll go toward the Potions class if you go the other way," Lily suggested.

James nodded. "Meet back here in a couple of minutes. Be careful. Watch out for baby Death Eaters."

They split up. Lily pulled out her wand and gripped it tightly. She peered around the next corner before turning it. James' words had put her a bit on edge. It didn't help that she didn't trust many of the people that belonged to the House residing in the dungeons.

It was clear, so Lily continued on, soon arriving at the Potions classroom. She creeped in, looking for evidence of the source of the noise. The door creaked closed behind her.

"_Muffliato_."

Lily spun and found herself face-to-face with a familiar hook-nosed young man. "Severus," Lily hissed, "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to talk to you without Potter or Black around." The Slytherin scowled. "I see your taste hasn't improved."

"If you're just going to criticize my friends I'll leave, Severus," and she turned to do just so.

Severus caught her wrist to stop her. "Wait, please." He didn't let go even when she turned back around. "They're not as safe as you think they are."

"At least they don't run around with Death Eaters," she told him coldly. "At least I don't have to worry about seeing their faces on the front of the _Daily Prophet_ some day because they've gotten caught killing muggle-borns. Sirius may be a git sometimes and Potter might be an ass, but I don't think they'd ever kill anyone."

Severus was scowling. "You sure about that? I guess your new friend never told you why the rest of them won't talk to him anymore."

"What do you know about it? You hate the lot of them."

He snorted. "I know all about it."

Before he could say anymore, James walked through the door. When he saw Severus his worried expression soured into a scowl. "Snivellus. What are you doing here?"

"None of your business, Potter."

James finally seemed to notice that Snape was gripping Lily's wrist. "Let her go."

Snape reluctantly listened. Lily crossed her arms once she had her hand back. "You shouldn't be out of bed, Snape," Lily told him. "Go back to your dormitory."

"Fine. Think about what I said though." With that parting comment, Snape departed, leaving Lily and James alone in the empty Potions classroom.

"What was that about?" James asked when Snape was out of hearing range.

Lily shook her head, mulling over the conversation she'd had with her former friend. "Just something we were talking about before you got here. Did you find out what made that noise?"

"No, I couldn't find anything."

"Alright. I guess we should get going again."

It was peaceful walking around in silence that late in the evening. Neither felt obliged to talk and break the uneasy truce they'd seemed to make. Lily walked side-by-side with James. Occasionally one of them would accidentally drift closer to the other and their hands or arms would brush and they would part again with muttered apologies.

The quiet gave Lily time to think. Running into Severus just reminded her how much time had passed and that in less than a year she would be graduating from Hogwarts and going out into the wizarding world as an adult. And as a muggle-born at a time when they were being slaughtered. It was odd to think that people she knew, her peers, might be on the side doing the killing.

It was worse knowing that her closest childhood friend probably already was.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked quietly as they walked. His voice startled Lily.

"The future."

"What about it?"

"It's kind of scary, isn't it? With Voldemort out there and the Death Eaters. We may talk about "baby Death Eaters" here and pretend we know what's going on, but Hogwarts is safe. And at home, we're still protected by our parents. It's going to be different when we leave. It's scary."

"I didn't know you were afraid of anything," James told her.

"I'm terrified."

And for once she looked it. James had seen furious and frustrated and thoughtful from Lily Evans, but he wasn't sure he'd ever seen frightened. "You shouldn't be. You're such a fantastic witch you'll probably defeat Voldemort on your own. While… I don't know, baking a cake or something."

For the first time in months, Lily smiled at him. "You wouldn't say that if you knew how rubbish I am at baking. Last time I tried to make a cake, I had it in the oven for three hours before I gave up and just ate the batter with a spoon."

James smiled back. "I cheat. My mum taught me a cake-making charm. Took me forever to do it properly and for some reason there's always walnuts in it, but it tastes okay."

"I wish my mum could teach me kitchen charms. She made pies over the summer and they were fantastic. The one time I tried to help, I set the filling on fire."

"How'd you manage that?" James asked, laughing.

"I still don't know. And Sirius just stood there the entire time, laughing at me while I tried to put it out!"

James shook his head. "Bloody useless, he is."

"He's alright."

They seemed to realize at the same time that Sirius might be an awkward topic and neither spoke for a moment.

"I think he misses having you as a friend," Lily told him. "We were stupid and we made a mistake, but he was your best mate."

"I don't want to talk about it. There're some things a friend doesn't do."

Lily was in a good mood. She didn't want to start another argument, so she let it go for the moment.

They had made it from the dungeons to the Astronomy Tower. They stepped out into the night. It was crisp and clear out. Lily stepped up to the edge and leaned against the battlements, gazing out on the grounds. The breeze tickled her hair against her cheeks.

"Do you ever go into the forest at night?" Lily asked, breaking James from his reverie of watching her.

He leaned next to her. "Are you asking as Head Girl?"

"No, just as… another student. Out of curiosity."

"Yes, I've gone in there at night. Why?"

"Curiosity, like I said."

"It's dangerous in there. There are unicorns and centaurs, yeah, but there are other things too. And the centaurs don't necessarily like us right now. Don't go in there alone."

Lily nodded. "I won't," she told him. She couldn't be sure if that was the truth or not.

James checked the watch he was wearing only for patrol. "Midnight. Time to let Filch take over."

They walked back to their common room. Sirius was up finishing an assignment. He'd already Transfigured his bed back to normal and didn't seem to notice when they came in.

"Hey Evans," James said softly before she could walk away. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Potter."

~~~…~~~

Hera was still awake, even though it was slowly approaching one in the morning. The emerald green curtains were drawn around her bed. The tip of her wand was lit and she was laying on her stomach, staring at a picture. A beautiful black woman with high cheek bones and braided hair was smiling out at her. Beside her, a tall white man with red hair and green eyes smiled softly. He moved to kiss her mother's cheek. Hera couldn't help the smile that their show of affection brought to her face.

"It's okay mum. You know I'll protect us."

Hera pulled her book, _Modern Jinxes and Hexes_, from under her pillow and tucked the picture into it, between the pages of the Bat-Bogey Hex and the Bedazzling Hex. She whispered a lock spell to the book and hid it back under her pillow. Cain opened one eye from beside her pillow and yawned.

"It'll be alright, right Cain? You'll warn me if anyone figures it out?"

He closed his eyes and went back to sleep and Hera turned to her side and closed her eyes, finally settling in to sleep. Her dreams were filled with poison and her mother's tears.

~~~…~~~

Right. Bit dramatic at the end, but how did you guys like Hera's entrance? I quite like her as a character. She may come off as a bit of a wimp but that's alright… I have some fun bits written up for her as well, from when I was writing her as a separate story. Hopefully I'll be able to tweak them enough to fit them in.

Comments, questions, flaming insults? There's an app for that! It's that comment box or whatever.

Carry on.


	7. Part VII

**Sirius Black's Sordid Affair**

**Part VII**

_Three be the things I shall never attain:  
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne._

Dorothy Parker

As it drew closer to Halloween, the tension of the school seemed to ease. James and Sirius still weren't speaking, so the other houses stopped expecting Cockroach Clusters to fall from the ceiling, or flooded common rooms. And despite the concerns the headmaster had shared with James regarding the war outside Hogwarts leaking in, there were no incidents in the weeks leading up to Halloween.

The climate was so moderate that the professors had allowed the students to hire a band to come play during the Halloween feast. Lily suspected this would never have been done if James and Sirius were on plotting terms. Though the two had not ended up in a fistfight again, they were avoiding one another except for Quidditch practice. Lily had seen less and less of Sirius. Some nights he didn't return to the dorm at all. She didn't know where he slept on those nights.

But the morning before Halloween, Sirius was not the one on her mind as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling she had charmed to show the sky, much like the Great Hall did.

The night before, while she and James had been patrolling, he had Transfigured a quill he found on the ground into a flower. When he'd given it to her, he seemed to be just as shocked as she was, like he wasn't sure why he'd done it. Lily felt like someone had cursed her, the way her spine shivered. It had been an awkward walk after that.

The flower was in a tiny vase beside her bed. Lily wasn't sure what kind of flower it was, or if it was a real kind of flower at all. But it was purple and had petals like a daisy's and if she looked at it carefully, sometimes she saw her initials in the little markings on the petals. Not that she had looked that closely. Or frequently…

She managed to leave the dorm ahead of James that morning and sadly noted that Sirius had still gone ahead of her, or had not returned at all. His absence made her think about what Snape had told her. It made her wonder what had happened. She may have asked Sirius if he had been around, but he wasn't.

Lily met Dorcas at the Gryffindor table. The other girl was poking at her hashbrowns with a fork and kept pulling something from her pocket to look at it.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Dorcas smiled weakly. "Trying to figure out how to sneak out of the castle next week."

"Sounds like something I could help with," Sirius said, grinning and plopping down in the seat across from Dorcas. Lily noted that the bags under his eyes were darker than they should be. "Why are you sneaking out?"

"There's a Quidditch game I need to be at."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and exchanged a dubious look with Lily. "Who's playing?"

"Ireland and Bulgaria."

"Ireland and _Bulgaria_? Why in Merlin's name would you sneak out of the school to watch that game? Bulgaria is terrible this year. It will be a killing," Sirius said.

Dorcas turned pink. "No reason. I just think it would be fun to go see."

"She's got a bit of a crush on one of the Chasers," Lily told him. "Grassy Knoll or something?"

"Gershon Meadowes," Dorcas corrected. "And it's not a crush, it's just…"

"Love at first sight?" Lily suggested.

Dorcas turned even more red. "I just want to meet him, alright? I've just got this feeling like I need to."

"Sounds like fa-ate," Marlene sang as she arrived.

"Shut up, forget I said anything."

"No, not at all," Sirius said. "I think it's brilliant. Should be easy enough to get you out of the school as well. There're still a couple tunnels that Filch doesn't know about."

"Really?" Dorcas brightened. "I um… I bought an extra ticket. If you want to go."

"No, I have plans. Lils, why don't you go? You've never seen a professional Quidditch match, have you?"

"No. It sounds fun. Plus, I have to make sure this Meadowes person is good enough for our Dork," Lily told Sirius, smiling and throwing and arm around their friend.

"Thanks guys," Dorcas told them, lighting up.

"Lily, do you think she'll let me pretty her up for her date?" Marlene asked, winking.

"It's not a date! Just a Quidditch match. Anyways," Dorcas said, desperately trying to change the subject, "how was patrol last night?"

Lily noticed Sirius withdraw into himself. "It was good… James Transfigured a quill into a flower and gave it to me."

"_Really_? Has he asked you out yet?" Marlene asked, leaning to get closer to the conversation. Lily pushed her hair away from the marmalade.

"Well, no. I don't know that he will."

Dorcas snorted. "Of course he will. You are Lily Evans and he is James Potter. He will ask you out."

"Maybe…" Lily muttered. She noticed Sirius had focused on something across the room and turned to see what it was.

At the Slytherin table, Armand Mulciber had his arm wrapped around Hera's waist. "Enjoying breakfast, Zabini?"

"I was. Pass the toast, please." Hera scooted out of his hold.

"I thought you enjoyed our date at the end of last year. Our fathers used to talk about our wedding, remember?"

"Yeah, well Father isn't around anymore. Please leave me alone."

A biscuit soaked in gravy hit Mulciber in the head. Gravy dripped onto his robes.

Hera looked and saw Sirius licking the leftover gravy off the serving spoon. Hera smiled and Sirius gave her a mock salute.

Beside her, Mulciber was raging. "Fucking Black!" Said Black stuck up his middle finger and took a bite of scrambled eggs. Hera took the opportunity to scoot further down the bench and hide her smile with food.

"Stop making eyes at my blood-traitor brother, would you?"

That wiped the smile from Hera's face and she looked down at her pancakes instead. "Yeah, okay," she acquiesced sadly.

Regulus regretted his harsh words for a moment. His brother was glaring at him now. "Look, he doesn't like Slytherin. He and I don't get along. If you get too close to him, he'll hurt you because he hates me."

"I don't think he hates you," Hera told him.

"It doesn't matter. Either way, you'll end up hurt." Regulus didn't tell her that it might be his other friends that hurt her.

Hera hummed a bit in answer. "He doesn't seem like such a bad guy. He's a bit like you, I think."

Regulus just shot her a glare for that one.

Across the Great Hall, Marlene, Lily, and Dorcas were staring at Sirius. "What?" he asked defensively.

"You just hit Mulciber in the head with food over a Slytherin girl," Dorcas answered. "Anyone else think that's a bit odd for him?"

"More than a bit, I'd say," Marlene responded.

"He was bothering her. I could tell," Sirius said in his defense.

"And why were you looking at her in the first place?" Marlene asked.

"She's my Potions partner! I was just looking over there for a minute."

"Uh huh," the girls said in unison. Sirius suddenly knew how other students felt when the Marauders used to look at people in that "I'm plotting something against you" sort of way.

"Hey, what are you three thinking?"

Marlene smiled. "We're not thinking anything. Nothing at all."

Sirius resolved to watch them. He knew plotting when he saw it.

~~~…~~~

Hera was already waiting by the time Sirius and the other seventh year Gryffindors made it to Potions that day. She noticed that Sirius sullenly avoided Lily as she was speaking to James.

"Hello," she greeted him quietly. "I finally got my book in the post this morning," she told him, holding it up.

Sirius sat and set his own book on the table with a _bang_, making Cain let out a low, feline growl of disapproval. "What are we brewing today?"

"An elixir to induce euphoria."

Sirius finally showed a wry grin. "Isn't that a sixth year potion?"

"Professor Slughorn seems to think we need to review it," she told him, shooting him a meaningful look.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"I was one of the people that had to remove the remains of your cauldron from the ceiling last year."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"It took three days!"

Sirius laughed. "Not as bad as it could have been. First year, I was brewing some kind of anti-boil potion. We kept finding mixture of ground up newt eyes and bat spleens for months."

The horrified look on her face made Sirius grin. "Why in the world would you grind up _newt eyes_ and _bat spleens_ for an _anti-boil_ potion?"

"Turns out I was reading the wrong recipe. That was the one to _cause_ boils." Sirius paused and looked up. "Or was it to cause rashes? I don't really remember."

Cain was also staring at the older Gryffindor.

"What?" he asked defensively. "I got mixed up."

Hera shook her head and smiled. "I don't know if I'm a saint or if I'm just crazy for working with you."

"It must be because you fancy me. All the girls fancy me," Sirius stated matter-of-factly.

Hera felt her cheeks grow hot and blessed her dark skin.

"Anyways, what was with my brother this morning? What did he say to you?"

Hera averted her eyes and her smile died. "Ah. He doesn't like me talking to you. Or smiling at you. Or acknowledging you exist."

"What, are you dating? Does he think I'm going to steal his girl?"

"No, Regulus and I aren't dating. I don't exactly get along with the rest of his crowd. They don't care for me much."

"But he still thinks he can control who your friends are?"

Hera studied him. "Are we friends?"

Slughorn entered at that moment, leaving Sirius to stare at Hera, astonished, as she turned to the front of the class to pay attention to what Slughorn said.

"Turn to page 154. I trust you did your homework on today's elixir. You have until the end of class to complete it. Best get started." Slughorn was jolly.

"Of course we're friends, Zabini," Sirius said as soon as Slughorn was done talking. "Why the hell else would I talk to you?"

Hera shrugged. "Because I'm good at Potions. Regulus said you hate Slytherins."

"No, I hate pompous, prejudiced pricks. You're alright."

Hera felt herself warm with pleasure. "Thanks. You're alright too. Anyways, be best get started on this. Class is only two hours and it has to brew for half that time."

Sirius watched her walk to the ingredients cabinet, then looked away when she turned back. Cain was staring at him.

"Don't give me that look," Sirius accused. "It's not like I'm hurting anything."

"Aren't you going to set up your cauldron? And why are you talking to Cain?" Hera asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Sirius quickly did as she suggested. "No reason, no reason."

~~~…~~~

Lily wasn't blind. She noticed the way Hera looked at her friend, the way she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, like Lily would sometimes look at James. Partway through class, she'd nudged Dorcas in the ribs and tilted her head toward Sirius' table.

Dorcas snickered. "Love is in the air," she muttered.

"Oh, good. I wasn't imagining it."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Dorcas asked.

"No idea."

"Do about what?" James asked, leaning over his table behind the girls to eavesdrop.

"Nothing," they said quickly.

Like his former best friend, James could spot a plot and a lie from a mile away. However, he also knew that if he wanted to learn anything, he was asking the wrong girls. "Sure…" he said, returning to his stool beside Remus. He followed the girls' gazes and spotted Hera leaning close to Sirius and explaining something. In a gesture similar to Lily's, he elbowed Remus in the ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Look."

Remus' eyebrows drew together the longer he watched. "Does Sirius… have a crush?"

"I dunno. Has he ever had a crush before?"

"Well yeah. But not on a Slytherin."

"Huh."

~~~…~~~

Sirius Black had successfully made a potion. It was simmering nicely, the aroma coming off of it made him think of long nights at the Three Broomsticks and the color matched that of Hera's nearly perfectly. Hers was slightly lighter shade of puce, but his wasn't far off.

He stirred it again experimentally. "This actually worked."

Her white smile stood out against her dark skin. "Good job," she told him, proud that he'd done so well.

"I can't believe it hasn't blown up or something. My potions never turn out this well."

Slughorn wandered over. He examined both potions carefully, "hmm"-ing every now and then. He leaned over and smelled each. He examined the color and consistency.

"Excellent work Hera. Mr. Black, I see Hera is having a positive influence on you. Keep up the good work. You may bottle your potions and clean up. When that's done, feel free to start on the homework until it is time to go."

"Wow," Sirius said as their professor walked off. "I don't think he's ever been that nice to me."

"Professor Slughorn isn't so bad. He's definitely the right professor to be Slytherin's Head of House, but he's not so bad."

They cleaned up their desks and Hera sat, starting the homework. Sirius leaned back at the stool and chewed gum, every now and again popping a large bubble with a "snap!" Eventually he got bored of that and leaned his chin on his hand to stare at Hera.

"What?" she finally asked.

"You know, you ought to put a Gryffindor bead in you dreadlocks."

Hera looked at him like he was crazy. "Why in the world would I do that?"

His grin was mischievous. "So that way, while you're watching the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor and wearing your house colors, secretly, you'll still be cheering me on."

Her smile grew slowly and Sirius felt a measure of pride. "Sirius, if I did that, my housemates might kill me. But I'll still be rooting for you. Not for Gryffindor though."

They began packing up. "I can live with that," Sirius told her. She just smiled at him.

"Is it weird," he asked while they were walking, "to be in a seventh year class when you're only a sixth year?"

"Yes. No one in my house says anything because I'm friends with Regulus and he's so popular, but they look at me differently."

"How'd you end up there anyways?"

Hera thought about that, pondering how to answer. "Well…" she began slowly, "Regulus and I argued for a while last year. He's one of my only friends, you know? And if he didn't like me, then the rest of the house didn't like me. So I spent a lot of time in the potions classroom. I knew it would be pointless to learn the fifth year potions, since we would do them in class anyways, so I took an extra copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_ from the cabinet and started on those. Professor Slughorn came in one afternoon while I was at work and figured out what I was doing. After that, he asked me to leave bottles of my potions to be evaluated. I worked through the sixth-year book last year, so I guess he decided I needed to keep being challenged."

"I can't imagine liking potions that much."

Hera smiled shyly. "It was that or hexes and I didn't think Mrs. Norris would appreciate me using her as a test subject. Not to mention Mr. Filch."

Sirius roared with laughter, eventually pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. "They might not appreciate it, but I would. That cat has it out for me, I swear."

"Mrs. Norris has the hots for poor Cain. He's scratched her so many times, but Filch has never caught him at it. I'm afraid he probably blames you."

Sirius was still smiling. "That's alright. Anything to mess with old Filchy." Sirius caught some Slytherin students watching them. He nudged Hera with his elbow as they stopped at the corner they usually parted at. "Hey, your housemates don't give you a hard time for talking to me, do they?"

Hera smiled and lied through her teeth. "No. Of course not."

Sirius, being an accomplished liar himself, always knew when someone was lying, with the occasional exception of a certain James Potter. "Sure they don't." Hera wasn't going to budge in her fib. Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright then. Just let me know if they bother you, okay? No use for you to get bullied when there might be something I can do about it."

Hera found his hand and squeezed it briefly before letting go. "Don't worry about me. I can take of myself. I do a pretty decent job of it, most times."

"Alright. Well, see you later." Sirius waved and they parted.

~~~…~~~

Hera was working very hard to ignore the whispers from her fellow Slytherin girls as she entered Charms. Her normal seat between Delia and Regulus was open, so she took it.

"So…" Delia's ice blue eyes were twinkling, "Friends with both Black brothers now, are we?"

Regulus pointedly ignored them.

"Yes," Hera answered cautiously.

"I bet Sirius Black is a _fantastic_ kisser." Delia's perfect smile shone. "I bet he'd be great to meet in a broom closet after curfew, too."

"I do not want to hear this," Regulus growled.

Delia leaned around Hera. "Then don't listen," she told him, smiling sweetly. She returned to her normal position. "So, how would you like to be dear Regulus' sister-in-law? Maybe they'd put him back on the tapestry if he married a pure-blood like you."

Hera gaped at her friend. "Sirius Black is not going to ask me to meet him in any broom closets!" she hissed.

"He better not," Regulus muttered.

Hera choked back a groan and started taking notes instead of listening to her friends bicker.

~~~…~~~

Lily and Marlene met by the lake after classes. The weather was cooling off, but in the late afternoon sun, it was still nice out.

"You and Dorcas and now Sirius? Love really is in the air, isn't it?"

"I suppose. What about you? Isn't there anyone you're thinking of?"

"Yes, someone back home." Marlene leaned back onto her elbows and looked up at the sky. "He's a muggle though. Times like this, I would put him in danger if I ever said anything about it to him."

Lily put an arm around her friend. "Things will get better. Does he know that you're a witch?"

"Of course not. I mean, I would tell him if we ever got together, but until then…"

"Yeah."

They watched the wind make little ripples in the lake for a moment. "What do you think about Dorcas and this Quidditch bloke?" Marlene asked.

"I don't know. It's odd how she seems so vehement about meeting him."

"Maybe it's fate then. Really fate, I mean. I've never seen her get this way about anyone before."

"Neither have I."

"And what about you and James?"

"I don't know." Lily plucked a blade of grass and rolled it between her fingers. "I'm worried about Sirius, to be completely honest. He hasn't been sleeping in the head dorm and I know he hasn't been sleeping in the Gryffindor dorm. And Snape told me that he knows why the Marauders were angry at him last year."

"When did you talk to Snape?"

"The first patrol I went on with James. He was in the Potions classroom."

"Sounds like he was up to something."

"I know."

"Lily… I think you should avoid him at all costs. He's one of the bad guys now. He's not the friend you had as a kid."

Lily shook her head. "What if he's not though? What if he isn't a Death Eater yet? If I can still help him, shouldn't I try? I might be the only one he would listen to."

"No, Lily," Marlene said firmly. "He made his choice when he called you a Mudblood. Even if he hasn't pledged himself to You-Know-Who yet, at least some of his friends have. If they saw him with you, not only would you be in danger, but he would too."

Her friend sighed. "I know you're right. I just can't help feeling like I should _do_ something. Less than a year until we're out in the real world and I can't get over this feeling that I should already be fighting."

"I know how you feel." Marlene grabbed Lily's hand. "You and me, we'll take on the world. I'll have your back and you'll have mine and the Death Eaters won't even know what's coming."

That got a smile from Lily. "Right."

"But before that, dinner. I'm starved."

Lily laughed and they got to their feet. "Food it is then."

James was waiting at the entrance to the Great Hell. "Mind if I borrow her a moment, McKinnon?"

With a nod from Lily, Marlene entered the Great Hall. "Play nice."

"Walk with me a minute, will you?" James asked.

"Okay." She followed him away from the hustle and bustle of students trying to get to dinner. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

James tucked his hands into his pockets. "Do you know what's up with Sirius and that Slytherin girl?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No. Do you know something about her that I don't?"

"Maybe… She's best friends with Regulus, Sirius' brother. Regulus is major into Dark Arts. I've heard some bad rumors about him, that maybe he already has the Dark Mark."

"Do you think she's trying to spy on Sirius for him?"

"No. She seems afraid of the other Slytherins. But I think that if they start to believe she's getting too close to a blood traitor, she'll be in danger."

Lily was surprised to find she was a little jealous of James' concern for the younger girl. "What about Sirius, aren't you even a little worried about him?"

James snorted. "Sirius can take care of himself. He's craftier than you'd think."

"If you think so… Anyways, did you just call me out here to ask about Sirius?"

He took a hand out of his pocket and rubbed at his hair, making it into even more of a mess. "Honestly, no. That just came out."

"What else then?"

"I'd like you to go on a date with me. A real one. To Hogsmeade."

"You asked me to walk with you so you could ask me out?"

"Yes. Privately."

"Well, no."

He tucked his hands back into his pockets. "Oh. I just thought, you know… We were getting along again."

Lily crossed her arms. "I've been told to make you work for it."

"Work for it," he repeated.

"Yes."

A slow grin grew across his face. "Alright then. And how am I supposed to 'work for it?'"

"You'll figure it out. But there's going to be one thing you have to do before I go out with you."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to dinner. I'm starved."

James kept pace with her. "What do I have to do?"

"You're an intelligent boy, Potter. Think on it." Lily was trying to hide her smile.

"Alright, alright. I will then."

He stopped her right outside the Great Hall and drew close to her. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, making Lily catch her breath. "You and your hair are ruddy brilliant. I'll figure it out, count on that."

They entered the hall and went their separate way, Lily to her friends, James to his.

"What was that about?" Remus asked.

"I asked her out," James said, smiling.

"What did she say?" Peter asked, leaning across the table in suspense.

"She said 'no.'"

Remus and Peter exchanged an _is-he-crazy_ look. "Then why are you grinning like a fool?"

"She said I had to work for it."

Remus smiled too. "I see."

Peter looked back and forth between the two boys. He didn't see it at all.

Marlene took one look at the smile on Lily's face and smiled with her. "I told you he'd ask you."

"I said no," Lily said smugly.

"Good for you. Make him ask a couple times," Dorcas told her.

"It's more than that," Lily said. "He has to forgive Sirius too."

"Speaking of, where is our former-Marauder friend?" Dorcas asked, looking around. "Isn't he supposed to help us figure out how to get to the Quidditch game next week?"

"He's been disappearing a lot lately. I'm worried about him," Lily confided quietly to her friends.

"I'm sure he's fine…"

Dorcas might have thought so, but Lily wasn't sure. She wasn't the only one that noticed he wasn't at dinner.

Hera tried to convince herself that it was just Regulus' comments that made her look for his brother at dinner. It wasn't working so well, especially since Delia kept taunting Regulus about it.

"Hera could be your sister-in-law. Wouldn't that be cozy?" Delia asked, poking Regulus with her fork. He turned it into a snake which she dropped. It raced off across the Slytherin table, causing a few people to shriek.

Snape turned the reptile back into a fork. "Black, refrain from Transfiguring the silver."

"Sorry about that," Regulus called. The twinkle in his eye brought out the similarities to his brother.

Cain had followed the fork-turned-snake with interest. He returned to Hera in disgust at his hunt being subverted after receiving a quick pet from Snape.

Delia was glaring at Regulus. "I hate you. You know how I don't like snakes."

"That was the point."

Hera grabbed her plate and stood without warning. "I'm going to leave early. I'll see you all later."

Delia and Regulus watched her go. "She's acting odd. I don't like it."

Delia chuckled. "Of course you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Regulus, I know you both really well. I can see that you think about her as more than just a friend."

"If you see so much, then why is she acting odd?"

Delia just rolled her eyes and didn't answer.

~~~…~~~

Hera didn't know what compelled her to go looking for Sirius, but she found herself wandering onto the grounds. The moon was near full and lit her way. She went to the Forbidden Forest and walked along the edge of it, following it to the Quidditch pitch. She figured a Quidditch player might go there when he wanted to avoid other people.

She was correct. Sirius was there with his broom. He'd obviously just gotten back to the ground because his hair was coming down from its mini-ponytail.

"Hi," Hera called shyly.

Sirius turned. "What are you doing out here?"

Hera shrugged. "I brought you some food. I didn't mean to bother you."

The boy plopped to the ground. "It's fine. You can join me I guess."

Hera sat down gingerly, not wanting Sirius to get upset. "I won't stay if you don't want me to."

Sirius pulled a roll from the plate. "It's fine."

Hera watched him eat. "Are you avoiding the Great Hall for a reason?"

He pushed the plate toward her to encourage her to take something. She took a stalk of broccoli. "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Alright," Hera said, pushing the plate towards him again.

"Is this your dinner?"

"Yep."

"Did you eat any of it?"

"Some."

Cain wandered up, startling Sirius. He meowed and Hera gave him a small piece of chicken.

"You should eat more, Zabini."

She tore another piece of chicken for Cain. "I don't like eating."

"That's a lie. You can't _not_ like eating."

"I don't."

Sirius shook his head. "That's cuz you get the Slytherin food."

Hera smiled. "Slytherin food?"

"Yeah, the house elves give you guys the worst food. We should go to the kitchen so you can get the good stuff."

"I should return the plate anyways."

"Let's wait until after dinner. They'll be less busy so we can get them to make us something good," Sirius told her, eating the last of her dinner. He leaned back in the grass, one hand on his broom, the other on his abdomen.

Hera lay back too, petting Cain. Her eyes tracked a thestral mother and baby as they flew. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Do you see thestrals?"

"No. Do you?"

"Yeah."

"Who did you see die?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Sirius turned his head to look at her and his hand stopped hers as she was petting Cain. "Alright."

Hera watched the thestrals and Sirius watched the stars.

Dinner was finishing up in the Great Hall. James caught up with Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas as they were leaving.

"Instead of a date, how about the three of you hang out with the three of us at Hogsmeade?" James asked, gesturing to Remus and Peter, who were trying to catch up.

The three girls looked at one another. "So we can follow you from Zonko's to the Shrieking Shack? No thanks, sounds boring," Dorcas answered for them.

"We'll take you to Madam Puddiworth's or whatever it's called," James offered, following them.

"Says who?" Remus asked. "I won't be seen in there."

James nudged him. "Yeah you will."

"Have you considered not everyone likes Madam Puddifoot's?" Marlene asked.

"I figured you'd love it," James said. "You're so…"

"Girly," supplied Peter.

"Exactly."

"Thanks," Marlene said wryly. "Did you happen to consider I have more than two brain cells and anyone that likes that place doesn't seem to?"

Dorcas snorted. "The problem is that Peter and Potter share their two brain cells. Even Remus being with them can't make up for that."

"I try, but it's difficult," Remus responded.

"Thanks for the support, Moony."

The group went up to Gryffindor Tower together. Lily and Marlene shared Marlene's Potion book to work on their homework. Dorcas sat with them and read a Quidditch magazine. Peter buried himself in a corner with his homework. James kicked two first years out of the armchairs by the fire and he and Remus settled into them.

"What do you think she wants me to figure out?" James asked his lycanthrope friend.

Remus snorted and shook his head. "You are a fool, Prongs."

"Why? What do you know that I don't?"

"A lot more than I thought, apparently."

"Come on, a hint, a clue, something."

"Think about it. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"If I don't? Will you help me then?"

"Maybe."

~~~…~~~

Sirius led the way to the kitchen, the plate in one hand, Hera's hand in the other. In the dimly lit halls, with the blessing of her chocolate skin, he couldn't see her blush.

"Here we are," he told her when they arrived. He lifted her hand and ran her fingers down the pear. As it giggled, Sirius turned to Hera in time to see her smile. The portrait swung open and Sirius helped her through.

They were immediately accosted by house elves.

"Mr. Padfoot, sir. What can we get you?"

"Mr. Padfoot?" Hera asked.

"Long story," he told her with a grin. "What do you want to eat?"

Soon they were seated with a miniature feast. Hera helped herself to a Spanish dish Sirius called paella, while he ate whatever was in front of him at the time. Hera stole a piece of his ham to give to Cain. When they finished with their entrees, the house elves brought them a black forest cake.

"Enjoy eating now?" Sirius asked as they ate the cake. He hadn't missed the fact that she still only ate about half of what went on her plate, with the exception of the cake.

"Better than the Slytherin food."

"I told you. They don't like you snakes as much."

"Why do they like you so much then?"

"They like to spoil me. We let them feed us whatever."

"We?"

"Me, Remus, and the rest," he told her. He looked at her as he swirled a glass of milk. "You know, you don't seem like you fit in Slytherin. You aren't as snakey as the rest."

"Snakey?"

"You know – sly, ambitious, without boundaries."

"You make it sound so bad. Resourcefulness is also a trait for Slytherin students."

"Why Slytherin though?"

"Don't forget the Sorting Hat takes your desires into consideration too."

"Then I really have to ask why you picked Slytherin," he replied.

Hera accidently nudged his foot under the table. "For my family. If I was in Slytherin, the rest of the world wouldn't question whether or not I am my father's daughter. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, through your family."

"Zabini," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Your dad disappeared over Christmas holiday your first year, right?"

"Yes."

"Huh," Sirius said, studying her. "The Zabinis are a pure-blood family, right?"

"Yes." Zabini looked down at her hands. "I'm afraid there might be some Death Eaters on my father's side of the family."

"You're not the only one. They're everywhere now."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a moment, Hera scraping the remains of icing from her plate and Sirius swirling his milk like he wished it was something stronger.

"Ah, well. Nothing we can do about them. May as well just enjoy ourselves. Feel up to a late night jaunt to Hogsmeade?"

He got Hera to smile again, which was his goal. "Not tonight. Rain check on that, maybe?"

"Sure. We'll have to be sneaky about it though. Don't want the rest of your House to get jealous."

"Why would they get jealous?"

"Everyone knows I'm never seen in public with a snake."

"I guess that means I'm special."

"Oh, definitely." Sirius stood and offered his hand with a bow. "Shall we?"

Hera placed her hand in his. "Alright."

"Want me to walk you back to your common room? Never know who might be out and about."

"I am not surprised that you know where the Slytherin common room is. But I think I can walk myself back. I'll see you later." She drew her hand from his and waved goodbye while she walked away. Sirius watched until she turned the corner then headed for Lily and James' dorm.

~~~…~~~

"Ugh," Lily groaned over her Transfiguration homework. Dorcas had finally set down her magazine and was working on homework as well. "This is horrible."

"What did you get for number nine?" Dorcas asked, leaning to try to see.

"You're already at number nine? I'm still working on five!" Lily told her friend.

Marlene looked up from Dorcas' magazine. "I gave up half an hour ago."

James plopped down beside Lily. "Need a bit of help here, ladies?" He slid Lily's book in front of him. "Number five's easy. That's _Multicorfors_."

Dorcas scratched out her answer and wrote James' instead. "What about number nine?"

Lily took her book back from James. "I don't think we need your help."

"If you let me help you, I'll let you help me with my Potions homework."

"That's just you trying to get me to do your homework for you. No," Lily answered.

"Alright then. About what I asked you earlier… You haven't happened to change your mind have you? Remus has figured it out, but I'm lost."

"No. Figure it out on your own, the same way you'll have to figure out the Potions homework on your own."

"Fine, fine." James sat and watched them do their homework until he got bored. Then he began doing the transfigurations from each problem Lily was working on. After the third one, she elbowed him in the ribs, hard. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're being obnoxious," she told him, exasperated. "Go bother Remus."

"He's helping Peter with his homework."

"Maybe you ought to do your homework then."

"Already done. Couldn't sleep last night."

"Wow, James Potter not able to sleep and doing homework instead of wreaking havoc on the castle. I think he's actually growing up!" Marlene exclaimed, turning the magazine sideways. She nudged Dorcas. "Did you seriously put a heart with the initials "DBM" and "GM" in them?"

Dorcas snatched the magazine from Marlene. "Shut up."

James took the magazine from her. "Gershon Meadowes, huh? I never figured you for an Ireland fan."

"You shut up too."

"Are you going to the Ireland vs. Bulgaria game then?" James asked, letting her have the magazine.

"Not that it's your business, but yeah. Lily and I are going. She's never been to a professional Quidditch game before."

"Really? That's not the game to go to them. You want to see the Cannons."

"Whatever. Ireland's got it in the bag this year."

Marlene and Lily exchanged a look and rolled their eyes as the banter continued.

~~~…~~~

Regulus was still up when Hera returned to the Slytherin dorms. "Did you find him?"

"Who?" Hera asked innocently, taking a seat across from him.

Regulus raised an eyebrow at her. "You know."

She shrugged. "Up for a game of Wizard Chess?" she asked by way of changing the subject.

It wasn't long before he was beating her soundly. "This is pathetic," Black scoffed. "You still haven't gotten any better at this."

"I don't have as much practice as you," the pretty black girl told him as he won. "You just taught me to play last year, remember. And mum doesn't know how either."

Regulus sighed and closed his eyes. "You must have some redeeming quality. You _are_ in Slytherin and friends with me. No good at chess, no ambition… how did you get into this house?"

Hera smiled wryly. "I have plenty of ambition. I just don't share it all with you. And I'm great at Potions. Slughorn's been comparing me to Evans and Snape for years. Not to mention my curses."

Regulus laughed and Snape joined them at the table. "Want to play a decent opponent?"

Hera smiled. "Our esteemed prefect joins us."

Regulus waved his wand and the chess pieces reset themselves, shoving one another and bickering as they went to their proper places. "Black," Regulus told Snape.

His friend laughed and Severus looked between the two of them. Hera caught the look. "It's his favorite bad pun. He thinks it's hilarious when I respond with, 'No, I am.'"

Severus looked between the two of them again. "She's serious," He said in disbelief when he saw Regulus' grin.

"No, that would be my brother."

Hera groaned.

"Shut up and make your move," Snape said, after he instructed a piece to move.

The boys played efficiently. It was obvious they both knew what they were doing. Hera watched quietly, studying each boy's face as he thought about his next move. When the pieces got too boisterous, a quick flick of the wand put them in their place.

Their thoughtful gazes made Hera smile. Regulus was obviously the more handsome with his fit body, silky hair and tan skin along with his seeker's mind and reflexes but Hera studied Snape as well. His hair was lank, slightly greasy and his nose was hooked but his intelligence shone through his dark eyes. It was a fair match.

In the end, it was Regulus who won. Quietly, the boys reset the pieces and started again. Hera sat to the side and read their Defense Against the Dark Arts book. The trio was silent as the common room emptied out slowly. Around one in the morning, the boys finished one last game and leaned back, stretching.

"Three and two," Regulus said speculatively. "You _are_ better than Hera."

"Some of the owls are better than Zabini."

"Thank you, very nice Snape."

Regulus was still thinking about that. "You know, I bet my owl is one of them."

"Reg, I thought you'd be on my side!"

"He's telling the truth Hera. You're bloody awful."

Snape snorted. "Get to bed. Class in the morning."

Regulus left the chess set where it was and offered his hand to Hera. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. "See you tomorrow."

"Ha. Not bloody likely, traitor."

Regulus smiled and kissed Hera on the cheek. "You know you'll forgive me by the time breakfast starts."

Hera went up to the girl's dormitories, leaving Severus and Regulus below. Evan Rosier joined them.

"Does your girlfriend know you've joined the Dark Lord?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Regulus responded. Snape thought he heard a certain amount of regret in that. "And no. I don't think she much approves of Death Eaters."

"That is a problem, Regulus. If she's not for us, she's against us. Don't let her sway you from our path. I've been told the Dark Lord has high hopes for you." Rosier sneered as he said that. Everyone could see Voldemort drawing the Blacks closer and closer. Bellatrix Black – Lestrange now – was already rising in the ranks of Death Eaters, along with her husband.

Regulus turned away. "She's just a girl. The Dark Lord is my master."

~~~…~~~

How long has it been since I've updated? 5 months, wow… I apologize for that.

My life is finally getting back on track, meaning I am much happier and less stressed, but I am also much busier. Hopefully I will get on some sort of schedule again. I love this story quite a bit, you know.


	8. Part VIII

Sirius Black's Sordid Affair

Part VIII

_Three be the things I shall have till I die:  
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye._

Dorothy Parker

Sirius peered around the corner, holding up a hand to Lily and Dorcas. After ascertaining that the corridor was clear, he motioned them forward. He hid behind a suit of armor. The girls piled in behind him. It was a week after Halloween and time for the Quidditch match.

"Alright, five up, six across," Sirius muttered to himself. "Hip, hop, open up."

The wall disappeared, revealing a passageway.

"This leads to a cave outside of Hogsmeade. From there, you can apparate to the Quidditch match."

Dorcas and Lily each hugged Sirius. "Thanks. We'll see you later."

The passage closed behind them and Sirius went on his way. He turned and bumped into someone, though he couldn't see them.

"James."

James pulled off the invisibility cloak. "Sirius. You showed Lily and Dorcas how to get out of the castle, I guess?"

"Yeah. They're on their way to the game."

"Right. I should get going then."

"You're following her to the game?"

"Trying to. If you want to talk, can we do it later? I have a game to catch."

Sirius stepped aside. "See you later."

James threw the cloak back on and the wall opened after a quiet mutter. Sirius watched it close again before wandering off.

Despite being in the dungeons, the Slytherin dorm rooms managed to stay quite warm. So when a cold paw was placed on Hera's cheek, she knew it was time to wake up.

The three other girls in her dorm, including Delia, were sleeping in. Hera had gone to bed before them the night previous. She had a feeling she'd missed some sort of party.

Cain placed a paw on Hera's face again as she opened her eyes.

Hera slipped her feet to the floor and spent an extra few minutes brushing Cain while the others began to stir. She carried him with her as she met up with Regulus and a few of his friends. They were all very serious or very tired, thought Hera. The walk to brunch was silent. Cain had stopped purring when he'd seen Evan Rosier with Regulus.

At the table, Hera sat silently at Regulus' side while he spoke quietly with his other friends. She picked at her eggs, feeding bits to Cain when Regulus wasn't paying attention. He paused long enough in his conversation to butter two pieces of toast, putting one on her plate. Hera stuck her tongue out at him, but ate the toast. She touched his shoulder gently when she was finished and motioned that she was leaving. Regulus waved goodbye and turned back to Rosier.

Hera made her way to the grounds, where it was beginning to drizzle. She paused under an overhang and looked out at the Forbidden Forest.

"Zabini, not doing anything?"

Hera turned to see the mangled Professor Kettleburn. "No sir, not at the moment."

"Perfect."

Hera was quite sure she might never be dry again. When Professor Kettleburn had asked for her help with a small project, she had not realized she'd be docking Crup puppies' tails in the rain. Apparently Professor Kettleburn found it refreshing, though the Crups seemed to be as miserable as Hera.

"Why must we do this now?"

"They're near eight weeks old. The ministry won't let me wait much longer."

Hera sniffled miserably and stroked one of the puppies before performing a quick Severing Charm. The pup gave her a betrayed look as his tail was removed and ran back to his mother who was already comforting two other puppies. "Why can't they keep their tails if they're just going to live on the grounds?"

"Because they _aren't_ going to live on the grounds," Professor Kettleburn told her, exasperated. "They'll be going home with their new owners at the end of the year. They're old enough to go now, but the headmaster wants to send them home with students."

"I like kneazles better. We don't have to cut off their tails," she said sadly as she docked another.

"I've told you, it doesn't hurt them."

"How would you know? Have you ever had _your_ tail docked?"

"Trust me; the little bastards would let you know if it hurt." He held up a hand missing half of three fingers. "They have sharp teeth and they ain't afraid to use them."

By the time they were done, all thirteen puppies from that litter had little stub tails. The younger litter lucked out as Professor Kettleburn finally took pity on Hera. "Get back to the castle, Zabini," he sighed. "Dry off and warm up."

From his position just inside the forest, with his head on his paws, Sirius watched Hera scurry back to the castle. With a canine huff, he climbed to his feet as she slipped inside. He trotted back into the forest, making his way back to a hollow with a blanket covering the ground and several pillows, all protected by a charm keeping the rain away.

The rain was making no difference to Dorcas, though Lily was trying to huddle into her cloak as much as possible.

"This game is going to be fantastic," Dorcas told her friend as they found their seats. "Ireland has been performing brilliantly all season and Bulgaria has started to pick up their game as well."

"Oi, Brooks, can't you see Lily is freezing?"

The girls turned to see James grinning at them. He waved his wand toward Lily and she instantly felt drier. Another flick and she was warmer as well.

"Potter, what are you doing here?" Dorcas asked.

"Heard you were taking Lily to her first game. Decided I couldn't miss it either." He sat beside them and wrapped an arm around Lily. She was still shivering so she didn't push his arm away. "I ran into Sirius on my way here. Nice of him to help you out of the castle."

"Yeah. I ought to think of a way to thank him properly," Dorcas said, her eyes intent on where the Ireland team would enter the field.

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend but just as she was about to say something, the teams entered the field. The crowd rose, cheering for one team or the other. The captains met in the middle and shook hands as the referee stood to the side.

"Which one is he?" Lily asked as the game began.

Dorcas pointed. "That one, number 12."

"Alright."

The game began with Ireland stopping Bulgaria from scoring three times. Then Meadowes got the Quaffle, dodged a well-aimed Bludger, and scored. Dorcas jumped up and down, cheering. Meadowes flew by as a team mate gave him a high five.

"Did you see that? He looked at me!"

Lily laughed, starting to get into the spirit of the game. "Sure he did."

Before long, Ireland was up 120 to Bulgaria's 100 and James had taken Bulgaria's side, if only to get on Dorcas' nerves.

"You boyfriend is barely holding onto that lead. How much longer do you think until Bulgaria gets the Snitch?"

"Ha! Bulgaria can hardly keep up. And Woodford is clearly the faster Seeker."

Lily leaned toward James. "Is it just me or does Meadowes keep flying by here every time he scores?"

"It could just be habit, but yeah, I noticed that."

Their observation was tested as Meadowes scored his fifth goal. Yet again, he flew by their seats. This time, he caught Dorcas' eye and smiled. As soon as he broke her gaze, she turned to Lily. "Did you see that?" she asked with an uncharacteristic squeal.

"I did!" Lily answered.

James threw his arm around her and leaned forward to see Dorcas. "If anyone's interested, I saw it too."

"Look!" Lily said, pointing.

The two Seekers were diving. A flash of gold let the trio know it wasn't just a bluff. An Irish Beater noticed too and sent a Bludger towards the Bulgarian Seeker. The Seeker was so intent on the Snitch that he didn't notice and was sent flying off his broom by the ball. A teammate fly to catch him, but it did them no good in winning the game. The Irish Seeker got the Snitch.

The Seeker landed and was soon covered by his cheering teammates. The Bulgarians landed as well. Meadowes was the first to part from the group hug and shake hands with the other team. After he had shaken everyone's hand, he looked up into the stands.

"Well, come on then," James said, loosening his arm from around Lily to tug on Dorcas' robes.

"What?" Dorcas asked.

"You came all this way, time to meet him."

She blushed. "I can't. Why would he want to meet me?"

"Don't be a coward. You're the gutsiest Beater I know, no reason to back down now."

Lily slipped to Dorcas' other side and slipped an arm through her friend's. James grabbed the other and between them, they escorted Dorcas to the field. They hit the grass and began striding toward the Irish team, with other fans celebrating around them.

Meadowes saw them and jogged to meet them, still holding his broom. The trio stopped and Lily and James let go of their friend.

"Gershon Meadowes," he said, holding out a hand.

"Dorcas Brooks."

"I saw you watching."

"Yeah, it was a great game. My friend Lily's first one."

Lily waved at the mention of her name. "Hi."

"Ah, alright then. Do you play at all?"

"Yeah. I'm a Beater."

"Really? What team?"

"I'm still at Hogwarts. I'm on the Gryffindor team."

"Thinking about going pro?"

"Maybe. Hard to know if you're good enough without trying out."

"She's good enough," James said, stepping forward. "James Potter. I'm her Quidditch captain. We've had scouts hanging about at our games."

The two men shook hands. "Seen any from Ireland yet?"

"Not yet, but if you want to send some our way, I'd be alright with it."

"Maybe I could come to a game," Meadowes said, looking at Dorcas again. "Maybe after we could grab a pint?"

Lily nudged James in the ribs. They grinned at one another.

"Actually, want to come celebrate with the team?" Meadowes asked. He looked at her friends. "You're welcome too, if you'd like."

"No I think we'll be alright. I'm sure Dorcas would love to go, though," Lily said, taking James' hand and tugging him back.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Meadowes took her hand. "Come meet the guys then."

"See you later, Dorcas." Lily began to drag James away.

"Ever had a bit of firewhiskey?" Gershon could be heard asking Dorcas as they walked away.

"She'll be alright, yeah?" Lily asked James for reassurance.

"She's the toughest Beater in Hogwarts history. She'll be alright."

"Good."

"Since we're already out, I'm famished. Fancy an early dinner?"

Lily checked James' watch. "It's hardly 4 o'clock."

"Missed lunch though, didn't we? I know a few good places we can go."

"I didn't bring much money with me."

"Don't worry about that. I have some to spare, don't I?"

"That's true enough," Lily said, smiling. "Where to?"

"Let's have a night out in London."

"An afternoon, you mean. I don't want to be out all night. They'll definitely notice we're gone then."

"Fine, an afternoon in London." James took her hand and they disapparated together.

They apparated inside the Leaky Cauldron. James waved to the bartender then guided Lily out to the street.

"So, where are we going? And this isn't a date, by the way. It's just us hanging out."

"Understood." They dodged through people on the street. "There's a café I know about. I think you'll like it."

James led the way, not letting go of Lily's hand. She found herself smiling while he slipped through alleys and back streets, leading her further away from the London she knew.

It was chilly out and still drizzling, but James' charm was still in place, protecting them from the rain. The people they saw walking were also huddled under umbrellas, or rushing down the side walks with their heads down and their collars pulled up. James led her down one more alley, turning left as they exited. Lily saw where they were heading. There was a sign on the sidewalk several yards ahead with the name of a café and the picture of an orchid on it. Each of the outside table, protected by an overhang, had a small vase with a single flower in it.

James conjured an umbrella as they got closer and opened it over them, getting rid of his charm. "So no one thinks it's odd that we're dry," he explained.

There was only one other person at the café, a young man sitting inside and reading a book. James and Lily sat together at an outside table. They moved the chairs so they could both watch the rain.

"My mum and I found this place while we were shopping a few years ago. The sandwiches are good, but it's the soup you want and the desserts."

The waitress soon took their order. Lily took James' advice and ordered French onion soup. He ordered a chicken stew.

"So you help your mother with her shopping?" Lily asked, smiling.

"Sirius did too. It was him we were shopping for. Worse than a girl, he is. Takes hours to make a decision."

"I noticed. I was trying to help him look for a flat. He wanted some skeezy one-room flat."

James' mouth twisted into an ironic grin. "Sounds like him."

"What about you? Are you going to stay with your parents after graduation?"

"Probably not. We have another house in Godric's Hollow that I think they'll let me have. It's more of a family house than a bachelor's pad, but I don't really want to stay a bachelor," he told her with a mischievous grin. "Why? Looking for a place to live after we graduate?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "The nice thing about being a witch is that I don't have to live close to work. I can just apparate in."

"That's not a no," he pointed out.

Lily was saved from having to answer by the arrival of fresh bread. It was still warm. The waitress assured them that their food would be out in a moment and refilled their water glasses.

"I don't like the way things are changing in the world," James commented.

Lily tilted her head. "What brought that on?"

"I was just thinking about how, pretty soon, we'll be out of Hogwarts, on our own. I was thinking about your comment on apparating to work and it hit me: We'll be out in the world working soon. With the war starting and everything."

"I thought about running away, you know," Lily told him quietly. "You said you didn't know I was afraid of anything, but fifth year, I thought about running away. I thought about going home and breaking my wand and never looking back, but I knew my family wouldn't be safe, even if I did that. So I thought about never going home instead, but it was the same thing. The only way anyone is ever going to be safe is by taking him down. Voldemort that is."

"Or joining him," James stated.

Their food arrived, steaming gently in the cool air. Lily stared at him.

"What do you mean, 'Joining him'?"

"I wasn't thinking about it, if that's what you're thinking. One of his Death Eaters came to my parents to try to recruit them and he barely got away after they told him to fuck off. But I can see why people are doing it. They lose hope and they can't see how they'll get through alive without being on his side."

"You could, you know," Lily told him. "You and Sirius and Remus. Maybe even Peter. You could all join up and you'd be safe."

James reached out and grabbed her hand, his eyes intent on hers. "Never, ever think that we would. Not one of us. Even if we were thinking of it, all we have to do is look at you and none of us ever would. Even when I was angriest at you, I still would have killed a Death Eater before I let them touch you. No one deserves what they do."

"I know," she said gently. "I know."

James took a bite of his soup. "What about you then? I know you said you were going to fight, but how?"

"I've been thinking about trying for the Auror program. It might be a while before I would actually be out there, fighting, but it would be a start."

"Same here, but I'm worried the ministry is going to become corrupt at some point."

"It probably already is."

James studied her. "I just thought with your buddy Severus, you wouldn't want to go up against him. I always kinda thought you'd open up a little charm shop or something."

"He made his choice. I've got to make mine. And Voldemort isn't exactly welcoming or kind to muggle-borns. I can't support someone that kills people just for who their parents are. And now-a-days, doing nothing is just as bad as throwing your lot in with him." Lily smiled again. "A charm shop? Really?"

"Well, you're awfully bloody good at charms."

They were quiet for a minute while they both enjoyed their soups. James grinned as he watched Lily eat. "Worth a trip to London?"

Lily flicked a piece of bread at him, laughing as it hit him on the glasses. "Yes. This soup is fantastic."

James reached over a got some with his spoon to taste. "It is good," he said reaching for another bite.

"Hey! At least let me get some of yours before eating all mine." She dunked a piece of bread in his stew, using it as a spoon and taking some of the vegetables. "Yours is good too."

After their soup, they shared a piece of cake before James paid their bill – despite Lily's protests – and left. They wandered through London in the rain, enjoying one another's company until the sun began to set.

"I suppose we should get back to school," Lily said with a sigh.

"Yeah." James took her hand and they disapparated, apparating back in the cave outside of Hogsmeade.

"That was really nice, James. I enjoyed today."

They walked the tunnel back to school and slipped through the halls together until they were at the Head dorms. They paused outside the portrait hole.

"I have to do a few things," James told her, gesturing off to the distance.

"Yeah. I have some homework."

Neither said anything for a moment.

"Did you enjoy today enough to maybe do it again sometime?"

Lily smiled and his heart soared. "Yeah."

"Did you enjoy it enough that I can kiss you goodnight?"

Lily laughed and stood on her toes to peck him at the corner of his mouth. "See you later, James."

"Bye, Lily."

James wandered around for several hours, even going up to the Gryffindor dormitories, but Sirius was nowhere to be found. According to Remus, who was there studying, he hadn't slept in the dorms in weeks. Suddenly, despite the anger that still lingered, James was worried for his friend. Sirius hadn't been sleeping in the Head dorms very often either and with baby Death Eaters becoming more common at Hogwarts, it would be easy for the boy to get in all kinds of trouble.

As curfew went into effect, James went back to the Head dorms and retrieved his invisibility cloak and the map. Lily was locked in her room, engrossed in her studies, much like Remus, so James didn't worry about her asking questions. He threw the cloak over himself and slipped into the corridor.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he muttered to the parchment.

It took a moment for James to find Sirius on the map, but as a dot appeared at one edge, James noticed it came with the tag, "Sirius Black." Sirius was pacing along the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Mischief managed."

James quickly made his way down to the grounds, though it was still drizzling out. Once at the greenhouses, he activated the map again and found Sirius. Then he stowed the map and his cloak away and became Prongs.

He cantered along the edge of the forest, his night vision a little better than normal, and looked for a shaggy black dog. He wanted to talk to Sirius and a large white stag was harder to avoid than a bespectacled, night-blind teenager.

As soon as Sirius realized James was looking for him he stopped to let the stag catch up, then led the way into the forest, all the way back to his hovel. Once there, they both changed back into young men.

"What do you want, James?" Sirius asked, resigned.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. Remus said you hadn't been back to the dorms in weeks."

"Why were you even looking for me?"

"Lily and I went out today."

"And? What's that got to do with me?"

"You're one of her best mates at the moment, aren't you?" James asked, sitting down. Sirius followed.

"Yeah…"

"Plus, we were talking about the war. It made me think about you. Times like this, it's not good to be on your own." James looked around into the forest. "And you seem pretty damn alone right now."

"I'm staying out of it. The Death Eaters don't want a blood traitor like me anyways."

"This isn't something you can just stay out of and it will go away. This isn't some Hogwarts feud, it's bigger than that."

"You don't think I get that? My own brother is a part of it. It was an open secret at home before I left, that he's been trying to become a Death Eater, ever since Bellatrix joined up. I don't want a part of that."

"That's your choice I suppose. But I'd feel better having you at my back." James' stare was intense.

"So now that Lily has given you a chance, all the sudden you want to go back to being best mates? That girl has had you wrapped around her damn finger since day one." Sirius' laugh had no mirth in it at all. "And what are you going to do, march out into the world and challenge Voldemort to a duel? This isn't like Slytherin versus Gryffindor, mate. People die."

"I think that's exactly what it is; Cowardly versus brave. If we don't have the courage to do what's right, who will? It's like that saying, 'All it takes for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.' It's got nothing to do with Lily except that she's going to be out there on the front line and so am I. I may have been pissed at you and you bloody fucking deserved it. But Lily and I have made up and there's bigger things going on now."

James let his friend have the silence between them. Sirius offered James his hand. "That quote is like your fucking life, mate."

James grinned and shook Sirius' hand. "Not a bad one to live by."

"It doesn't mean I'll be on the front line too," Sirius warned. "My hair's too good for that."

James laughed. "You say that now."

"Lily's your girl. It's your job to make sure she stays in one piece."

"Yeah, speaking of that. She's a bit worried about you. Been wondering where you get off to. I'm guessing this is the place."

Sirius looked around. "Yeah, it's alright. You know the forest. Pretty much it leaves me alone when I'm furry."

"Yeah, she's good like that."

"Anyways, how'd that Quidditch match go? Are Brooks and that Meadowes bloke engaged yet?"

The look on Lily's face when the two walked into the Head dorms together that evening was worth trudging through the rain with the map and the cloak safely shoved under their clothes.

"You two are soaking wet!" She shoved them both over to the fire and trotted off to her room, returning with cocoa, sugar, a kettle, and three mugs. In short order, she had them in dry clothes with mugs of hot cocoa. The three of them huddled up together for a game of exploding snap.

"I see you two aren't trying to punch one another."

"Nope. I've decided to save it for when he least expects it," James told her.

"Plus, Remus and Peter are rubbish at planning pranks. The poor bloke needs me. No Halloween prank? Is that how we're going to leave Hogwarts?"

Lily leaned over and grabbed each of them with one arm. "I heard nothing about that. But I'm glad you two are friends again."

After she'd gone to bed, James and Sirius stayed up, changing to the moderately quieter game of chess.

"I'm sorry for what we did at the end of last year."

"Padfoot, if I think about that, I'll want to punch you again."

Sirius was quiet for a minute. "I always knew it was you that hexed Ewan MacAllister."

"Damn straight. No one dumps a girl after he takes her first time. He's lucky I didn't push him off the Astrology Tower. Besides, he couldn't brag about it afterwards, could he?"

Sirius laughed and they played quietly for another minute before James flushed. "How, uh, was it?" he asked.

"Brilliant, mate. And I'm never going to think of it again out of respect for you, but brilliant. You'll find out for yourself though, eventually."

James punched Sirius lightly on the shoulder. "Thanks for that. I don't ever want to see that image in my head ever again."

"It never happened, mate. It never happened."

~~~…~~~

Breakfast the following morning, found Dorcas with her head on her arms, trying to exert minimal effort while eating bacon.

"Have a nice night, Dorky?" Lily asked with a grin.

Marlene sat to Dorcas' other side. "I didn't see you come in last night. When'd you get back?"

"About thirty minutes ago," Dorcas muttered.

"What?"

"You spent all night with him?"

Marlene looked between the two of them. "What _happened_ yesterday?"

James and Sirius picked that moment to walk in, arms around one another's shoulders. Sirius hopped up on the bench. "One and all, the reunion tour of James Potter and Sirius Marvelous Black has begun. Be on standby and expect the worst!"

"Black, get off that bench t_his instant_," McGonagall ordered. Sirius obeyed with a salute.

"What t_he hell_ happened yesterday?" Marlene repeated. "They're speaking again?"

"Dorcas went out with Gershon Meadowes after the game and James and I went out as well." Lily turned to Dorcas. "Fill us in!"

"We went out to the pub with his teammates after the game and drank a bit," she paused and closed her eyes, taking another bite of bacon, "A lot, actually. Got in a bit of a drinking contest, if I'm honest. After though, we split off and just walked around a bit." He brow furrowed. "I'm not quite sure about where. I think I remember the Eiffel Tower, so maybe we apparated to France? Anyways, then we went to his place. He's got this muggle thing, like you've got, Lily, you know. A telly-thing?"

"Television?"

"Yeah, one of those. We watched a movie and then he turned to me and said he thought I was one of the prettiest witches he'd ever seen and that it was brilliant that I was a Quidditch player. He asked if I'd like to spend the night. I said, 'Well, I'm not that kind of witch, really,' and he told me we didn't have to do a thing, we could just sleep beside each other and he'd make me tea in the morning. So we did. And right before we were about to fall asleep he looks at me again and says, 'Actually, I'd like to kiss you quite badly.' And we were up for probably another hour just kissing.

"It was brilliant, just ruddy brilliant. I woke up this morning and he had a kettle on and we made tea and then we apparated back to Hogsmeade and we kissed goodbye."

"You and Meadowes spent the night together and made out?" James asked, just joining the conversation. The girls glared at him, as if to say "Butt out of it."

"Well yeah. It was wonderful."

The girls grinned. "How much you want to bet she gets an owl from him this morning?" Marlene said.

James scoffed. "The bloke won't send an owl that quickly. He'll wait until this evening at least."

Marlene was right.

~~~…~~~

In Potions class, Sirius sat and waited for Hera to show up. And waited. And waited. He finally gave up when Slughorn started class without her. Sirius contemplated his ingredients for a moment before choosing carefully. It was dried beetle eyes he launched at Snape's head. He figured if he wanted answers, something less slimy than frog liver would be best.

"Psst. Hey, Snape."

Snape glared at him, murder in his eyes. Sirius supposed he couldn't blame him. He had almost gotten the greasy bloke killed.

"What do you want, Black?"

"Where's Zabini?"

Snape sneered. "What? Can't copy off of her today? Deal with it." He turned back to his own potion.

Sirius was feeling less gracious. He launched the frog liver. Snape turned with a snarl.

"So where is she?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." He started to turn away again.

"Snivellus, next thing getting tossed into your greasy hair is salamander blood. What happened to Zabini?"

Snape's scowl was deadly. "She's sick with the flu. Happy now?"

Sirius let Snape turn around and stared at his book. With a resigned sigh, he opened it and started trying to brew a Volubilis Potion.

An hour and a half later, the entire class was staring into his cauldron, horrified. "It's… it's _awful_."

"Dear Merlin, _how_ did you manage to make it turn that color?"

"It smells like dead hippogriffs!"

Slughorn was just shaking his head. With a flick of his wand, the potion was gone. "Mr. Black, please stay after class."

Sirius crossed his arms and sulked until class was over.

"Mr. Black, I must say, I have never seen a worse interpretation of a Volubilis potion. How you managed to… Well, anyways, I am sure I do not need to tell you that you need a tutor. Lily or Severus would be my first choice. Lily, however is too busy with her duties as Head Girl. Severus –" Sirius started to protest. "Well, with the relationship of mutual hatred that you and Mr. Snape share, I do not feel that would be wise. I will let Miss Zabini know she is to be your tutor for the foreseeable future, as soon as she is feeling well again. Now, please go to your next class."

_Well,_ thought Sirius, _at least nothing blew up this time._

In the Slytherin common room that evening, Hera couldn't help her mouth gaping as Severus told her about Sirius' potion. He seemed to get such glee out of how horrible it was. "I can't _really_ have been that bad, right?" she asked weakly.

"Oh, it was," he replied, dark eyes twinkling with mirth.

Hera groaned and let her fever-hot forehead drop into her palms.

The Gryffindor common room was going over the incident as well. James had managed to snag a camera from a classmate and was passing around photos, to Sirius' great displeasure. He wasn't sure how James had developed the photos so quickly, but as soon as he got his hands on them, they would be no more.

~~~…~~~

Hera met with Sirius in the library as soon as she felt like she could walk without vomiting. She felt silly sitting in the school library wrapped in a green and silver blanket, but she managed to ignore the strange looks she got from the other students as Sirius told her about his potion.

She let her forehead drop to the table. Sirius' chair scraped and she looked up to see him half out of it, giving her a look of concern. "It really was that bad," she said in amazement. "You really have no clue how to brew a proper potion. I wish someone had taken pictures."

Sirius' expression was sheepish. "I think James might have."

Hera giggled. "I have _got_ to see those." She grew serious. "Alright. The first step to brewing a decent potion is to _follow the damn instructions_, got it? If it says 'brewed mandrake root,' never on your life use fresh mandrake root. Ever, okay?

"Get out your notebook and start taking notes. You're going to learn what the hell you're doing wrong before you even step near a cauldron again."

"We have Potions tomorrow."

"Then I guess it's going to be a long night, isn't it?" she shot back.

When the library closed at ten that evening, Sirius tried to beg off anymore studying, claiming that she couldn't go to his common room and he couldn't go to hers. Unfortunately for him, Lily happened to be leaving the library at the same time.

"You can study in James' and my common room. It's open to all the Houses. You can spend the night on the floor too, so you don't have to leave after curfew."

Sirius was beginning to think his friend was a masochist for wanting to date that girl. Her smile was awfully sadistic for being so sweet.

By one in the morning, Sirius refused to study anymore. "I'm tired and you're still sick!"

"All the more reason to keep at it!" Hera claimed, dark bags under her eyes. "If I can't make it to class again, you need to be able to brew a proper potion."

"Look, just go to Madame Pomfrey in the morning. She'll fix you up and then I won't have this problem."

"I don't like healers. I'll get better on my own, I just need a bit of time."

"You need a bit of sleep is what you need." Sirius snagged a few magazines from the table and turned them into nice fluffy pillows. "Here, take as many as you want and go to sleep. If you still feel awful by the time Potions comes around, I'll say you got me sick and we can skip together."

The pillows looked so nice that Hera couldn't resist. "I suppose that's okay…" She selected two of the flattest pillows and placed her head on one, hugging the other to her chest as if it were another person. "I am tired…"

Within moments, Hera was asleep. Sirius gave a sigh of relief and put their books on the coffee table. There was a blanket folded on the back of the couch that he pulled over himself. He lay down on his side, looking at Hera.

_Dumb girl. Just going to make yourself worse._ He smiled. _At least then I'll be able to skip._ He fell asleep as soon as he shut his eyes.

~~~…~~~

James and Lily returned from patrol a little after two, having to break up a party on the third floor on their way back to their rooms. It had taken time, but all involved had been caught and given detention.

When they entered their common room, they found Hera and Sirius curled up only inches apart. Hera's face was snuggled into Sirius' pillow. One of Sirius's legs was gripped between Hera's. Both were softly snoring. Lily and James both had to swallow sniggers.

"That's kind of adorable," Lily whispered.

"Probably the first girl Padfoot's ever spent the entire night with, without snogging."

"How do you know they didn't snog?"

"He'd never fall asleep beside someone he snogged. He'd be afraid they'd molest him in his sleep."

They were both quiet for a minute.

"It would be awful of us to take pictures of them to blackmail him, wouldn't it?" Lily asked.

James thought about it. "Probably. But it's worth the picture anyways."

~~~…~~~

Look! No drama!

Just wait for it. I'll bring it back. Peter's lurking in the background and he's got several fingers in pies at the moment.

Anyways, James and Sirius were quite rude for a moment in there, but that's all they get. Lily deserves a bit of respect.

Will they make it to Potion? No clue yet.

Quite a bit of Lily/James in there, so I hope that makes some of you happy. The next chapter should have the first Quidditch game in it. The timing might be a week or so off of canon but I think you lot call live with that.

Review, flame, whatever.


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